With Sugar on Top
by StrawberryInsanity
Summary: Due to a fight with a stray Chimera Anima, Ichigo loses her memory. When the aliens come for a visit, Kish is determined to get her memory back. Can he with a little help?
1. Where's my Kitten?

My second story. My first one isn't doing to good, but hopefull this one will do better. I know most people hate Berry, but she's in it mainly for Ichigo and Tasuku for Kish 'cause they help him. And also for humor.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, as I am sure everone knows this quite well.

* * *

It had happened three moths earlier; the six mews had been fighting a stray Chimera Anima left behind by the aliens.

{Flash back}

"_RIBBON…DOUBLE BERRY CHECK!" Berry, the new mew, and Ichigo, the leader, shot off their special double attack._

_"RIBBON...MINT ARROW!" Minto shot off __her own attack._

_The giant anima blocked both attacks and charged for Ichigo, before anyone could think of what to do, and before Ichigo had time to move, it rammed right into her, sending her flying through the second story window of a tall building._

"_ICHIGO!" Berry screamed._

"_Ichigo-san!" Retasu called as loud as she could._

"_Ichigo-oneechan!" Purin cried loudly. The mews continued to fight the anima until they had beat it, and when Ichigo still hadn't recovered by then, they all got very worried. They all ran to the pavement under the window Ichigo had been knocked through._

"_Ichigo, get you're butt down here!" Minto yelled up as loud as she could, when they got no reply, Minto started to sob. Zakuro put a comforting hand on her shoulder._

_Berry jumped up without a word, land on the windowsill, she peered into the room, looking for Ichigo and sure enough there was a pink haired girl lying on the floor dressed in pink with cat ears and a tail, though she was obviously unconscious, which was what scared Berry the most, even more so than the small cuts and scrapes all over her friend's bruised and glass-covered body._

_She carefully stepped into the room, easing her way around all the tiny shards of broken glass, and made her way to Ichigo. Berry knelt down and picked up gently, she could hear all the glass falling off of the cat girl and onto the floor._

_Only fifteen minutes later and the mews, along with Keiichiro, Ryou, and Ichigo's parents, were sitting in the waiting room of the nearby hospital._

_The doctor walked in, "Mr. and Mrs. Momomiya? She's conscious, you may go in now."_

_The girl's parents rose and quickly made their way to the room their daughter was in, once they got there they rushed to her side._

"_Oh! Ichigo, sweetie, how are you feeling?" Shintaro, the girl's father, asked her, stroking her hair back._

"_Mm, fine," Ichigo answered, "Though…I feel like I was ran over by a buss."_

_Sakura giggled almost hysterically, "No, no, honey, um, your friends told us that you were in an abandoned house, with Minto-san, and you tripped, falling off a railing and landing on a window pane!"_

"_Er, I guess, I don't really remember." Ichigo answered, "So, Moe and Miwa are here then? And who's Minto?"_

"_W-what…?" Shintaro looked shocked, "Ichigo, she's one of your best friends, you hang out all the time, you remember Minto, right? The girl with the blue hair and eyes."_

_Ichigo slowly shook her head, "No, who are you talking about?" Right then, Sakura began crying on her husbands shoulder._

{End flash back}

Berry sighed, resting her chin on her arms that were placed, folded, on one of the pink café tables, "I still can't believe she didn't remember all of us."

"Yeah," Minto said, "Especially me, I mean, I was the first mew she found…" The blue haired girl let out her own sad sigh.

"At least we still get to see her in school, na no da." Purin said, trying to be a little optimistic.

"I guess." Zakuro said, leaning her back against the wall and peering out the window.

"It's still rather depressing…" Retasu said.

"What is?" A new, and rather random, young male voice asked.

Without looking at who it was, Berry said, "Sorry, but we're closed for the day."

"You know," The voice said, "I don't remember you guys being this…depressed, and I certainly don't remember _you_." Now, the girls looked to the entrance to the café to see who this newcomer was, in fact, it was _three_ newcomers.

"Who are you?" Berry asked.

"Tar-Tar…" Purin whispered, her eyes as wide as they could go.

Retasu gasped, "You…"

"What…?" Was all Minto got out.

"He he, miss us?" Kish asked, folding his arms behind his head.

"No, who are you?" Berry asked.

"Well, looks like they've got another one just like my kitty," Kish said, "The name's Kish, and this Pai and Tart; we're the people that tried to take over earth just over a year ago."

"Oh…" Berry said, still looking a little confused.

"Why are you here?" Zakuro asked.

"This one," Pai said, poking Kish in the back of the head, "Wouldn't shut up about coming for a visit."

Kish glared at Pai, rubbing where he had poked him, "Shut up, you know you wanted to check up on 'em too!"

Pai simply gave him an emotionless expression. "No. I would have been perfectly fine to have stayed home."

"Ah, come on!" Kish said, stretching his arms wide, "We were here so long, earth is practically our second home!"

"How?" Tart asked. He was feeling uneasy; he could feel Purin staring at him intently, just waiting for him to look at her so she could pounce on him.

"I don't know." Kish answered him. Then he suddenly clapped his hands together, causing most everyone in the room to jump, "Where's my kitten?"

* * *

Well, that's it for the first chapter. I hope you-whoever is reading this-likes it! I know it's not long but...yeah.

Read and reveiw please!


	2. Explanation

Me: Wow, you know, I really wasn't expecting this story to do all that well.

Kish: You are evil! You made Ichigo forget me!

Me: Relax, she'll remember you eventually.

Kish: WHEN?!

Me: Now that would be giving away the story, now wouldn't it? And just for yelling at me, you get to do the disclaimer.

Kish: What do you mean _get_ to?

Me: Just do it.

Kish: Fine, **StrawberryKousagi does not own anything or anyone conserning Tokyo Mew Mew, or anything, in fact, she doesn't even own her own bedroom.** Now on with the story!

* * *

The girls each exchanged nervous glances, wondering who should be the one to brake the news to him.

"Well?" Kish asked, confused as to why the mews weren't saying anything.

"Uh, K-Kish-san," Retasu said quietly, she gently grabbed his elbow and pulled him over to a chair, "Perhaps…you should sit down."

She flinched back when he yanked his arm free, "No, where's Ichigo? Did something happen to her?"

"Er, well, she's um…" Retasu stuttered, "S-she's…not here."

"Obviously," Kish said, annoyed, "Now where is she?"

"She flew through a window and slit her neck open." Minto said, hiding a smirk.

"WHAT?!?" Kish was going to kill someone if that was true.

"No!" Berry said, sending a glare towards Minto.

Just then Ryou walked up the stairs from the basement, Kish teleported over and grabbed him by the collar, getting close to his face, "What happened to Ichigo?!"

Ryou shoved him off and glared at him for a minute, "What…? What the heck are you three doing here?"

"Just answer my damn question!" Kish shouted.

Minto sighed and set her teacup down with a loud _tap_, "She doesn't remember anything."

"W-what…?" Kish just stood there for a minute, before he plopped down into a chair, "She…doesn't remember…?"

"Well that was a little blunt." Berry mumbled.

"Bu, how?" Tart asked.

"There was a fight with a Chimera Anima, na no da." Purin said, "She got knocked through a window…"

"Does she remember _anything_?" Kish asked.

"Not about her life as a mew." Minto said.

"What does she remember?" Pai asked.

"Only what happened before she got injected," Berry said, "She doesn't even remember going out with Masaya."

"Is she okay?" Kish asked, "I mean, going through a window, she could've…"

"She's fine, er, better," Berry said, "She still has a few scars, but those almost always take a while to go away."

"So, if I were to go and see her," Kish started, "What would happen?"

"Ah, you shouldn't!" Retasu said, "She, um, she would most likely freak out, think that you're some creep who's stalking her, o-o-or possibly she might-"

Kish held up his hand, signaling for her stop, "Alright, I get it, it's not the greatest idea, you can stop your rambling."

"Could someone answer my question?" Ryou said, "Why are these three here?"

"We've just come for a visit." Pai said. "Nothing more."

Ryou sighed, "It better be nothing more." He mumbled.

Kish sighed, "Is there any way I could see her, talk to her, I mean, you guys wouldn't just stop hanging out with her just because of this, right?"

"We still see her in school, na no da!" Purin said.

"She stops by here sometimes," Berry said, "Maybe, I don't know…you could like, hide your ears somehow, er, something."

"She comes by here?" Kish asked, "Then she must remember something, even if she doesn't realize it, right?"

"Actually," Zakuro said, "We told her a few things."

"Nothing much," Minto said, stirring the spoon in her teacup, "Just that she used to work here and we were pretty good friends, that's pretty much it though."

Kish sighed and leaned back, "So then, hiding my ears and pretending to be human is pretty much the only way, huh?"

"So it would seem." Ryou said, he smirked, "Maybe you should, I don't know, jump off the roof of the café, surprise her, and make her hate you all over again."

Kish glared at him and Ryou chuckled, "Jerk." Kish mumbled under his breath.

"It would be possible," Pai said, "The only major difference in our appearance to that of a humans is our ears. All you would need is some sort of headgear to cover them."

"It's called a hat." Minto said, making it sound like he should have known that.

"Of course," Pai said, trying not to glare at her, "A hat."

"We'll all need to if we're gonna be here for a while," Tart said, "Right? I mean, we can't just go walking around with our normal ears, people would stare at us and what if someone tried to kill us because of them?"

"U-um, Tart-san," Retasu said, "You are correct, about the hats, but I don't think anyone would try to kill you just because of your ears."

"Purin likes Tar-Tar's ears, na no da!" Purin exclaimed. Tart blushed.

"And you said she doesn't remember Masaya, right?" Kish asked.

"She doesn't remember going out with him," Berry said, "All she remembers about him is that he was a guy she liked at school but he moved to England like, four months ago."

"So he's gone?" Kish asked.

"Don't go getting any ideas." Ryou said, "She's off limits for you."

"Psh, I don't have to listen to you!" Kish said, "And why would she be "off limits" to me, anyway?"

"Because I don't trust you." Ryou said blankly. Kish rolled his eyes, putting his elbow on the table and his chin in his palm.

"I don't get it though," Tart said, "Why were you guys fighting Chimera Animas?"

The girls looked at him, "You…didn't know?" Retasu said.

"Know what?" Tart asked.

"You guys left a bunch of 'em here, na no da!" Purin said.

"So…it's my fault then…" Kish said, looking guilty, "We were the ones that left them here, it's completely my fault."

"Kish," Pai said, "You can't be completely sure-"

Kish hit the table, "We were the ones that left the damned things here, Pai! We should've been more careful!"

"I agree," Minto said, "Dealing with those things is such a hassle, they completely threw off my usual schedule."

"Don't you care about anything but yourself?" Kish glared at her, speaking through gritted teeth.

"Look," Berry said, "If you want to do the whole pretend-to-be-human thing, great, I'll talk to Tasuku and maybe you could like, borrow some clothes from him or something, you look about the same size."

Kish raised an eyebrow at her, "Who's Tasuku?"

"My boyfriend." Berry said, smiling and blushing lightly.

Kish heaved a sigh, "Alright, I'll do it if it means I can see her. You know, without hiding in a tree or something."

Minto scoffed and rolled her eyes, "You're _so_ immature."

Kish smirked at her, "Someone jealous?"

Minto glared at him and snapped; "You wish!"

"Sorry princess, but my only wish is Ichigo." Kish said.

"If you're really going to play human," Ryou said, smirking, "Just remember that on earth, guys don't wear pigtails, unless they have gender issues or something." Kish glared at him.

* * *

Me: Does anyone think Kish under-reacted? Please tell me because I'm not sure if it was enough for finding out that the love of your very life doesn't remember you anymore. Oh, and I hope the whole "gender issue" thing doesn't offend anyone, it was just Ryou being a jerk to Kish...again.

Tasuku: Shouldn't I be at the cafe? I work there too, remember?

Me: Oh yeah, sorry, I kind of forgot to put you in...you'll come in in the next chapter or something. Just...pretend it was your day off or something!

Tasuku: I wanna see my bunny!

Me: -.- Great, I have to deal with you wanting to see Berry and Kish sulking because Ichigo doesn't remember him. *sigh* Read and Reveiw please!


	3. Winter Photo

Me: Okay, so pretty much everyone thought that Kish under-reacted, that's what I thought. But I didn't want to edit it for fear of it starting to suck, because I'm not the greatest when it comes to big reactions like that, as you noticed. But hey, at least it wasn't horrible!

Kish: Do I get to s-

Me: Do the disclaimer? Sure!

Kish: . That's not what I was going to ask...

Me: Oh, well, do it anyway.

Kish: *sigh* **StrawberryKousagi does not own anything, as I'm sure you know this quite well.** Now, on with the story!

* * *

Kish was lying on his bed, in the room that he used whenever he, Pai, and Tart had to stay on the ship. He rolled onto his side, then his other side, and then flopped onto his back. He was restless. He was supposed to be sleeping, but it just wouldn't come, he couldn't seem to get tired enough to even doze off. He heaved out a sigh, turning his head to look at the small, softly glowing orb on his desk. It held a picture of Ichigo that he had been lucky enough to get. It was winter when he took it. He smirked, remembering the day.

{Flashback}  
_Kish sat on a tree branch in the park bundled up in a warm cloak, his hood pulled up. When he looked up from adjusting himself on the branch he saw Ichigo, wearing her own winter clothing. She was smiling up at the sky, her hands held out as if to try and catch the snow, her pink pigtails lightly sprinkled with it._

_He wondered what the thing was on her head. Over each ear was a white, fuzzy, round thing and it had a white band over her head to attach one to the other. Kish thought he might know what they were, remembering Pai having said something about an "earmuff" being something humans wear during colder weather to keep their ears warm. Whatever it was, she looked cute as always. He smirked, getting an idea, and pulled out a small, black square from his pocket, it had a few gray buttons on it. He pressed the center one and a small, holographic screen came up. Pressing another button, the square beeped and flashed, taking the picture. It materialized into a piece of glossy paper and Kish grabbed it from the air, smiling at it. Now, he had a picture of his kitten._

_When Kish looked up, his smile faded into disappointment as he watched Ichigo walked out of the park.  
_{End flashback}

Thinking about this, Kish finally managed to fall asleep, a small smile playing on his lips.

* * *

A pink haired girl walked down the sidewalk, making her way to her workplace, Isabella's Art Shop. She stopped, looking up at a tall building next to her, it had a wrought-iron gate around it and a few brick pillars placed every few feet. Something felt…familiar about the building, though she had no clue as to what it was, but whenever she passed it she could almost hear a voice and it sounded almost more familiar than the building itself.

"_Konecko-chan!_" A shiver ran down her spine and she continued on her way, no longer interested in the building or the small voice echoing in the back of her head.

* * *

Kish sighed, drumming his fingertips on the café table that he was sitting at.

"Would you _please _stop that?" Minto said, "It's getting on my nerves."

Kish rolled his eyes and stopped, just like the girl had asked. He was impatient, waiting for Ichigo to arrive, even though Berry had told him that there was not a one hundred percent chance she would even show.

He looked down at what he was wearing for what felt like the hundredth time; a pair of baggy, camouflage cargo pants with a black t-shirt and a black beanie to hide his ears, all of which he was borrowing from Tasuku until he could get some human clothes of his own.

"Relax, dude," Tasuku said, rollerblading up to him, "If she doesn't come round this time, we'll work something, okay?"

"Yeah, I know." Kish sighed.

"Purin could do some tricks for you, na no da!" Purin exclaimed, bouncing into view.

"No!" All the workers present and Kish shouted in unison.

The small girl shrank back a little, "Okay." A customer called to order and she scampered off to see what they wanted.

"Tasuku," Keiichiro called from the kitchen, "I have another delivery for you and Berry to take out!"

"Hai!" Tasuku then skated off to the kitchen.

* * *

He let his back hit the back of the chair with a soft _thump_, "She never came." Café Mew Mew was now closed, Retasu left, having to return some books to the library, Zakuro had a photo shoot to attend, and Purin had to pick up her siblings from daycare, so it was only Berry, Tasuku, Minto, Keiichiro, and Kish left while Ryou was doing heaven only knows what in his lab.

"We told you," Berry said, "There wasn't a one hundred percent chance of it."

"Cheer up!" Tasuku said, "Tomorrow's another day!"

"Easy for you to say," Kish said, "You get to see your little bunny every day."

"Details, details." Tasuku said. Berry sighed and rested her head on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Kish, would you please go get the mail?" Keiichiro asked, "I forgot about it."

"Sure." Kish said. He got up and headed for the door.

When he opened it, however, a petit girl was walking up the steps, one he knew quite well, and when she looked up her cheeks turned red, embarrassed from almost running into him. Kish felt his own cheeks heat up as he tried to say something, anything, but managed nothing.

"Oh, uh, hi." Ichigo said, "Sorry, um, I know you're closed and all but-"

"I-it's okay!" Kish said, interrupting her, "Come in!" He stepped aside and let her pass through; she was at least a whole head shorter than him now.

"_Either I grew more than I thought or she shrank._" Kish thought, smirking.

Ichigo glanced over her shoulder only once at Kish before going to talking to Berry and Minto.

"Kish," Keiichiro said, "The mail?"

"Huh? Oh, right!" Kish, though quite unwillingly, left to retrieve the mail.

"Hi, Shirayuki-san, Aizawa-san," Ichigo said, "I-"

"Ichigo, I've told you time and time again," Minto said, "Just call me Minto, its weird when you call me by my last name."

"Same here." Berry said, smiling, "Now, did you need something?"

"Um, okay…yeah!" Ichigo said, "Shira- er, _Berry_, do you think you'd be able to help me with my math homework? I'm kind of sucking at it."

Minto giggled, "So what's new?"

Ichigo smiled, though it was more forced than anything, she found it rather creepy that she didn't really know any of these people -well, not anymore- and yet they knew so much about her.

"Of course!" Berry said, "I'd love to!"

"Thanks," Ichigo said, truly smiling this time, "It's a _huge_ help!"

Kish walked back into the café and, continuously glancing over at Ichigo, walked over to Keiichiro and handed him the mail.

"Thank you." Keiichiro said, Kish nodded and glanced over at Ichigo yet again. He was struggling just to control himself.

"Who's the new guy?" Ichigo asked. She felt as though someone was watching her from behind.

"Oh, he doesn't work here," Berry said, "Well, not really, he's um...a friend of Tasuku's! From school."

"Oh," Ichigo said, "Well, I better get going, it's getting late. Thanks again, soon you soon?"

"Yup, bye!" Berry said.

"Have a good night." Minto said.

"Yeah, you too." Ichigo called over her shoulder just before disappearing out the door.

"She left to quickly…" Kish mumbled. He looked to the mews, "Can I go after her?"

"No." Berry said, "Don't do anything sudden or, well, stupid like that."

"Why didn't you say hi to her?" Tasuku asked.

Kish leaned back against the wall, "I was waiting for her to be done talking to Berry and Mint, but she left right after…but if I can't go after her then what _can_ I do?"

"Perhaps you could visit the place she works?" Keiichiro suggested, "Pretend you didn't know, that you're just looking for something."

"Humph, that is if you have _any_ interest in the arts at _all_." Minto said, rather snobbishly.

Kish glared at her before looking back to Keiichiro, "Where does she work now?"

"Isabella's Art Shop." Keiichiro answered.

"Who's Isabella?" Kish asked.

"That's the name of the store." Tasuku said.

"Oh." Kish said.

* * *

Me: I know it's starting off kinda slow, but it'll get better, I promise! I hoped everyone liked it though.

Tasuku: I got to see Berry!

Me: Yes, you got to see Berry.

Kish: ;-; Ichigo...

Me: Control yourself.

Kish: I'm trying but I wanna kiss her!

Me: *smacks hand to forehead* God, you two are freaking obsessed! Read and Reveiw please!


	4. Ten Percent Chance

Me: Okay, I didn't think I was going to be able to update today but lookey here, I could! Since I'm moving tomorrow I wasn't to sure if was going to be able to even finish the chapter, so sorry if it seems a little rushed. I find it quite humoruous though that instead of renting a moving van, like _normal_ people, my family is using my dad's best friend's 4x4 truck and the farm's horse trailer!

Kish: Just get on with the story!

Me: Alright, alright, yeesh, **I do not, will not, and will never own Tokyo Mew Mew or anything related to it in any way.**

* * *

Ichigo sat on her stool at Isabella's Art Shop, working on a picture she'd been working on for the past week. Some time after she'd fell in the abandoned building, she discovered an interest in drawing. She glanced up when she heard the bells on the door chine, signaling that someone had entered. She looked up, just staring at her paper for a few seconds before looking back at the customer.

"_Isn't that…?_" Her thought trailed off and she set her pencil down, hopping off the stool. "Hey, you're Tasuku's friend, right?" She asked the boy from behind the counter, "The guy that was at the café last night."

Kish looked up and smiled, "_Breathe,_" He reminded himself, "_Just act normal…_" To her he said, "Um, yeah, hi, I'm looking for something; pencils for a friend."

"Oh, alright," Ichigo said, she ducked under the open space where the employees could get in and out from behind the front desk, "Are they for Akasaka-san?"

Kish nodded, "Yeah, he needs some new pencils for designing his cakes and all that."

That was the story; Keiichiro had sent him for simple drawing pencils, asking for nothing in particular.

"Right," Ichigo said, "Well, this way then." She led him down a few isles, passing many different types of art utensils, from paints to acrylics to pastels. Once they reached the sketching isle, Ichigo bent down and grabbed a thin box labeled ROSEART SKETCHING. She stood back up and handed it to Kish.

"Thanks," Kish said, following her back to the front desk, "So, Isabella, that's an American, right?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said, "The owner used to live in like, New York or something. I don't remember."

"Oh." Kish said, he paid for the pencils with the money Keiichiro had given him, and then he looked over at the table where Ichigo's drawing was. "You were drawing when I came in, right?"

Ichigo glanced over her shoulder at the drawing and then looked back to Kish, "Um, yeah, I was."

"Could I…see it?" Kish asked.

Ichigo blushed a little, "Um, I don't know, I'm not that great."

"Still wanna see it." Kish said, smirking at her playfully.

Ichigo smiled at him, "Alright, fine." She gestured for him to come behind the counter and he did, ducking under the open space.

When he walked up to it, Ichigo standing behind him, he was honestly surprised, he never knew Ichigo could draw.

"When'd you start drawing?" He asked.

"Oh, not to long ago," Ichigo said, "Just a few months ago actually."

"It looks like you've been drawing your whole life." Kish said.

Though what surprised him the most was the picture itself. It was a pretty, young girl with wavy, shoulder length hair, bright eyes that looked a little sad, and she had large wings. She was wearing a dress that came down to mid-thigh and then ankle length in the back, lined with ruffles. It was strapless and blue and she was barefoot, with a band around her left thigh, neck, and arms, the girl looked like Mew Mint, only without the boots, gloves, her hair down, and a new dress.

"Who's it supposed to be?" Kish asked, wondering if Ichigo, too, could see the resemblance.

Ichigo shrugged, "Just some girl."

"_I guess not._" Kish thought to himself.

"Mai wants me to finish it soon, though," Ichigo said, "To put it up in the window."

Kish looked back at her with a smile, "Well you _must_ be good if…wait, who's Mai?"

Ichigo giggled, "Mai is the manager."

"Oh," Kish said, "But still, you're pretty good!"

Ichigo blushed, "Thanks, but shouldn't you be getting those to Keiichiro now?"

Kish glanced down at his bag, "Oh yea, I guess I should." The only problem was that he didn't want to leave. She'd left much too quickly the first time he had gotten to see her and he wasn't about to do it himself.

"You should come by the café sometime," He said, "I hear they have pretty good sweets."

"Maybe I will," Ichigo said, "Do you work there now? Berry said you didn't."

Kish opened his mouth, wondering weather he should tell her yes, he did now work there, or no, he didn't and was just saying that she should. Deciding, he said, "Yeah, I work there now."

Kish walked into the café, plastic bag in hand, and looked over at Zakuro who was managing the register. "I've got a problem."

"That doesn't make it mine to." She said.

Ignoring this, he told her anyway, "I told Ichigo that I work at Café Mew Mew now."

Zakuro looked up at him, "I'm not the one to talk to about that. Go to Keiichiro or Berry, or even Tasuku. I doubt Ryou will help you though."

Kish nodded, "Thanks." He headed for the kitchen and found Keiichiro, but he wasn't alone. Tart and Purin were helping him bake something.

"Tart?" Kish said, raising an eyebrow. "Wha are you doing here?"

"I'm aloud to hang out with the mews too ya' know!" Tart said, "I'm helping Purin and Akasaka-san make cupcakes!"

Kish chuckled at the kid, Tart had a small bit of batter on his nose and left cheek, "Here's the pencils." He set the bag on the counter for Keiichiro.

"Ah, thank you!" Keiichiro said, "How did things go with Ichigo?"

"That's kind of what I need help with," Kish said.

"Tar-Tar, we need another egg, na no da!" Purin exclaimed before Kish could go on.

"What's the matter?" Keiichiro asked.

"Well, I kind of told her that I started working here." Kish said.

"Oh, I see," Keiichiro said, "Well, I doubt Ryou will help you but I'm sure if you ask Tasuku or Berry one of the two will get you a uniform."

Kish raised an eyebrow, "Do the guy's uniforms look anything like what you wear?"

Keiichiro looked up, "No."

"Okay then." Kish walked back into the main room.

Keiichiro sighed, shaking his head as he muttered, "Teenagers."

"Where's Tasuku?" Kish asked Zakuro.

"In the back," She said, "Getting more delivery boxes."

Without a word Kish headed to the back rooms, it wasn't to long until he found him.

"Hey, Tasuku?" Kish said.

"'Sup?" Tasuku asked, picking up a large box and nearly dropping it, but Kish caught it before it hit the ground. "Thanks."

"No problem," Kish said, "Anyway, when I went to where Ichigo works, I told her that I work at the café now, and then I told Keiichiro and he said that either you or Berry could get me a uniform."

"Sure thing!" Tasuku said, "But first, could you help me with these boxes? They're kinda big for only one person."

"Yeah, sure!" Kish said. They carried it to the kitchen and set it down next to the doorway that lead to the hall.

"Okay," Tasuku sighed, "Now we can get your uniform."

He led Kish to the hall closet that was next to the girls' dressing room and pulled out a spare uniform. It looked like Tasuku's only a little different; the vest was a dark green, almost black, instead of just plain black. "Here ya' go!"

"Thanks." Kish said, taking it. "When do I start?"

"Um…today?" Tasuku said, "I don't know, you'd have to ask Keiichiro or Ryou."

When they asked Keiichiro, they were told he'd start the next day. Then Berry skated in, "Tasuku-kun, he have another delivery to take out!"

"Okay!" Tasuku grinned at his girlfriend and Keiichiro handed them the packages. Kish sighed, he was rather jealous of the two, being so in love. In the end Tasuku had gotten the girl, he, however, wasn't so lucky. But now, he had a second chance, which actually brought a question to his mind.

"Hey, Keiichiro?" Kish said, "If Ryou is such a genius then why didn't he try getting Ichigo's memory back? I mean, there has to be a way, right?"

Keiichiro looked up, shocked by the sudden question, "Um, w-well, what he told me was that it could possibly harm her metal health, the chances being eighty percent that it won't happen though, but he didn't want to take any chances."

"A ten percent _chance_ that that might happen?" Kish said, "Is he even sure that it's accurate?"

"He didn't really have way to prove the accuracy," Keiichiro said, "The test he ran was rather difficult, seeing as she wasn't here."

"Whatever," Kish sighed, "A ten percent _chance_ doesn't seem like something to worry about to me."

"Kish-san," Keiichiro said, turning dead serious, "I would recommend that you do not attempt to retrieve Ichigo-san's memory without proper information."

"Oh, don't worry, I won't." Kish said, smirking as he walked out of the kitchen.

Keiichiro stared worriedly in the direction the boy left, "_I hope he knows what he's doing._" He knew what Kish was going to do; he was going to ask Pai.

* * *

Me: Dun dun duuun! Will Pai help Kish?! Will Berry and Tasuku get the order delivered?! How will Kish get more help?! You won't know until the next chapter!

Kish: You're so evil! You won't even be able to get the next chapter up for a while!

Me: Now, now, Kish, I'm not one hundred percent sure on that. But it is true, I won't have that much acess to a computer once we move, until sometime in June when I'll be getting my own computer.

Kish: But that doesn't mean she won't ever get to update...right? *elbows me in the ribs*

Me: . Ow...yes, I will get to update maybe every Saturday, and possibly a few days in-between. I'm not sure.

Kish: Read and Reveiw please!!!


	5. Homework Help

Me: Okay, so I was able to update a heck of a lot sooner than I thought I would be able to. Which is good, and I madet this chapter a bit longer since I'm not sure when my next update will be, though it's only like, a page or two longer. Anyway, I had strawberry milk for the first time on the way here, I love it! It is now my favorite drink next to pink lemonaid.

Kish: You've had in once!

Me: No one asked you.

Tasuku: Strawberry is a berry! Like my Berry!

Me: O.o not exactly. Your Berry is a bunny, not a berry. But lets go on with the story, shall we?

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN TOKYO MEW MEW IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM AND NEVER WILL.**

* * *

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Please pleasepleasepleaseplease pleaaaaaaaaase?" Kish was practically clinging to Pai's arm, begging him to help run a test on Ichigo's memory, but Pai wasn't being cooperative. "Please with lots, and _lots_ of sugar on top!"

Pai sighed and shook the alien teen off, "Why should this be of any importance to me?"

"Because," Kish said, "Ichigo is my kitty-"

"Her powers are dormant until, and _if_, she ever remembers." Pai said.

"I don't care," Kish said, "Weather she has the cat genes or not she will always be my kitten, and as I was saying, Ichigo is my kitty and she doesn't remember her life as a mew, which isn't a good thing, especially considering that means she doesn't remember me."

"I would think that would be a good thing for you." Pai said.

Kish raised an eyebrow at him, "Why's that?"

"If Ichigo does not remember you," Pai began, "Then won't it be easier to woo her?"

Kish gave him a dirty look, "I'm not the kind of jerk who would take advantage of something like this." Pai simply stared at him, waiting for him to go on, "Despite what you might think, I _want_ Ichigo to remember!"

"And why does this require my assistance?" Pai asked.

"Because, you're smarter than I am," Kish said, "And I don't know how to run all the machine stuff like you do." Pai simply stared at him, but then Kish gave him a different look, the same, pleading look he gave him when he was a little boy, "Please, Pai, you know how important Ichigo is to me…please."

He caved, "Fine. But I'll need a DNA sample of some sor-"

Kish squeezed him into a bear hug, "Thank you!"

Pai shoved him off, "As I was saying, I will need a DNA sample of some sort."

"On it!" Kish said. He teleported out, reappearing outside Ichigo's bedroom window, he knew exactly what to look for so it wouldn't be to hard getting a DNA sample. He crouched low on the tree branch of the tree outside her window, seeing that she wasn't in her room he teleported inside.

Kish looked around, it wasn't on her desk…or her bedside table…ah ha! There it was, her hairbrush was on her dresser, placed in front of her small mirror. He walked over to it and grabbed it, stealing a strand of pink hair off of it and teleporting back to Pai.

"Here," Kish said, handing it to him. "Wasn't hard at all."

"I don't even want to know how you got this." Pai said.

Kish rolled his eyes, "Relax and get your mind out of the gutter, I just got it off her hairbrush."

Without another word, Pai placed the piece of Ichigo's hair on the medical scanner in his computer room to run the test.

"Is it done _yet_?" Kish asked, getting rather impatient.

"It will be done in…" Pai looked at the timer, "Exactly two point eight hours."

"Two _point_ eight hours?" Kish repeated, "What the hell does that mean?"

Pai sighed, "Two hours and eight minutes."

"Oh." Kish said.

"Don't you have something else important to do?" Pai asked.

"Nope." Kish said. "But seriously, how old is that thing? We've been waiting for what? Four, five hours already?"

"Three hours, actually," Pai said, "Why don't you go and pester Tasuku? He's your knew little friend isn't he?"

Kish shrugged, "I guess, but I wanna know what the result of the test are!"

"Well, Kish, you'll just have to wait." Pai said.

---two point eight hours later---

_Bing_

"Kish," Pai said, "It's done…Kish?" Pai looked over at him to find boy sleeping in his second computer chair. "Kish!"

"Huh? Wha-? I'm up, I'm up." Kish sat up strait and stretched his arms a little, then he saw the scanner, "Oh! What's the results?"

"The humans-"

"You know Pai," Kish said, "We're not mortal enemies with 'em anymore, you _can_ call them by their names."

Pai glared at him before continuing, "_Ryou's_ scan was five percent incorrect."

"Five percent…" Kish repeated, "So then, if it was ninety percent from his scan…and five percent off…which way are we going here?"

"The chance of brain malfunction is only a mere five percent." Pai said.

Kish furrowed his brow, "But there's still a chance."

"There is no way around one." Pai said, "Playing with any creature's brain in quite dangerous Kish, I wouldn't do try anything without the proper knowledge first."

Kish grinned, "And that's where _you_ come in!"

Pai sighed, he seemed to be doing that a lot, "Yes, that is where I come in."

Kish stood up, "Great, so you'll help me…right?"

Pai looked at him for a minute, "Yes, Kish, I will assist you."

"Awesome!" Kish said, "Now, I have work in the morning, so I should get to bed."

Pai was confused, though he didn't let it show, "Wor-?" Although, before he could ask Kish had already teleported away. Pai pinched the bridge of his nose and then looked at the clock, it was already eleven at night?

"_I have Pai's help now,_" Kish thought to himself as he leaned on a few stacked boxes in the back of the café, "_But I doubt I'll be able to do much without help from someone who has access to mew mew files._" Just then, as if summoned, Tasuku walked through the kitchen door.

"Hey, Tasuku," Kish said, standing up strait, "I had Pai run a test on Ichigo's memory."

"Oh yeah?" Tasuku said, setting his silver tray in the island counter, "And what happened?"

"He said that Ryou's test was five percent off," Kish said, "There's actually only a five percent chance that anything will happen to her."

"Huh, weird." Tasuku said. "You aren't…going to try and revive her memory or something…are you?"

Kish shrugged, "What if I was?"

Tasuku looked a little worried, "Dude, you shouldn't, Ryou will _kill_ you."

"So?" Kish said, "I can take him on any day."

"Wait," Tasuku said, "You're only telling me this because you want me to help, correct?"

"Well…" Kish trailed off.

Tasuku shook his head, "No way, Ryou would not only kill you, but then he'd also kill me!"

"Tasuku," Kish said, "What would you do if Berry didn't remember you anymore?"

That got his attention. "W-what?"

"If Berry didn't remember you anymore, what would you do?" Kish asked.

"Well…" Tasuku said, "I guess I'd…try to…get to her remember…"

"And now you know how I feel," Kish said, "So will you help me?"

Tasuku bit his lower lip and looked around nervously to make sure no one else was around, "Alright, I'll help."

Kish smiled at him, "Thanks! I mean it!"

"So, what's the plan then?" Tasuku asked.

A blank look crossed Kish's face, "I um, I hadn't really thought about that."

Tasuku chuckled, "Nice one."

Kish smirked and chuckled with him, "Yeah."

"Maybe I could get Berry to help us," Tasuku said, "She's smart, I bet she could think of something."

Kish nodded, "Great, Pai ran the scan so we also have him, even though he was quite against at first."

"Why's that?" Tasuku asked.

Kish opened his mouth to reply, but Ryou can in, "Would you get to work?" He looked over at Kish, "And why are you wearing a uniform?"

Kish raised an eyebrow at him, "I…work here?"

"Since when?" Ryou demanded.

"Since yesterday," Tasuku answered, "Keiichiro hired him."

"Why wasn't I told about this?!" Ryou exclaimed, "I'm the one that practically runs this place!"

"Actually," Kish said, "I do believe that was Konecko-chan, when she worked here."

Ryou glared at him, "Oh shut up, you know what I mean." He sighed, "I don't care, just get to work."

"Aye aye!" Tasuku said, saluting him and earning a glare. He shrank back a little in fear and grabbed his silver tray, gesturing for Kish to follow him.

Almost all of the workers at Café Mew Mew sank into chairs.

Kish sighed, "You know, I always heard Ichigo saying how exhausting it is to work here, and now I know why."

Berry giggled a little, "Yeah, it's pretty tiring."

"It might be a little easier if _someone_ help once in a while." Kish said, glaring at Minto.

"I do help," Minto said, "_Someone_ has to taste the teas."

"How about _I _do that all day tomorrow," Kish threatened, "And we'll see how _you_ like it."

Minto looked appalled at the mere suggestion of it and was about to say something when Retasu interrupted, "Please don't start a fight!"

"Fighting is so tiring, na no da!" Purin said, "Especially after a long day like today, na no da!"

"I bet you wouldn't be to tired if Tart wanted to play with you." Minto said.

"Tar-Tar!" Purin said happily, her eyes lighting up at the very thought of her best friend.

The door opened and someone stepped in, "Ichigo!" Berry said, standing up, "You ready to go?"

"I should be asking you that," Ichigo said, amusement in her voice.

Kish twisted around his chair to look at her, he smiled, "Hi."

Ichigo looked over at him and smiled back, "Hi," Then she turned back to Berry, "You ready or not?"

"Yeah, just let me change out of my uniform." Berry said, then she walked off to the changing room.

"You and Berry doing something?" Kish asked.

Ichigo nodded, "Yeah, I'm spending the night at her place so she can help me with my math homework."

"Cool!" Tasuku exclaimed, "I'm helping Kish with his, right Kish?"

"You are-? Ow!"

Tasuku had kicked him under the table. "Right, Kish?"

Finally getting it, Kish said, "Oh! Yeah! He is…"

"Cool." Ichigo said.

Berry walked back out, wearing a white t-shirt and jeans, "Okay, I'm ready. Tasuku, what about you?"

"Ready!" Tasuku said, standing up, "Kish is coming with us."

Berry looked confused, "He is?"

"Yup!" Kish said.

Minto, Retasu, Purin, and Zakuro each exchanged confused and slightly concerned glances.

* * *

Me: Okay, so I hope everyone is happy with it.

Kish: Ichigo STILL doesn't remember me!

Tasuku: Berry isn't going to forget me, is she? *looks really worried*

Me: *rolls eyes* No, Berry isn't going to forget you too, and Kish, this whole story is _about_ Ichigo having forgotten everything about her mew life, which includes you, so she's not gonna remember you for a while, you'll just have to deal with it.

Kish: ;.; Read and Reveiw please so this cruel, cruel authuress can make Ichigo remember me again...

Me: *sighs* How about I throw a chicken at you?

Kish: WHY?!

Me: Then stop complaining!

Tasuku: Cheer up, dude, the story is supposed to get pretty funny soon, right?

Me: Yes, you and Kish are going to act like total dorks with trying to get Ichigo's memory back.

Tasuku&Kish: What?! WHY?!

Me: Because that's just the way you guys are. Bai bai for now everyone!


	6. Strawberry Smoothie

Me: Okay, so I was kinda hoping to have this up by Friday but, my brother invited me to this movie thing and we didn't get home till like, eleven thirty and it's midnight now, so does it still count as Friday? XD Anyway, here's the sixth chapter for everyone!

Kish: About time!

Me: Oh quite, you! It's not like it was MY fault there was a storm for like, two days strait and so we had to turn the internet off for the whole time and...yeah, on with the chapter now!

**Disclaimer: I do not, will not, and will never own Tokyo Mew Mew or anything related to it.**

* * *

Kish sighed as he leaned his back against the window frame of Berry's bedroom. "_Why am I here again?_" He asked himself, his eyes traveled around the room, it was clean and pretty, very much a girl's room. The walls were a slightly grayed white and the carpet was a pale pink, there was a desk next to the window he was leaning against that had a matching chair, both made of painted-white wood, and the bed was a double with pink sheets and a white blanket that had a raspberry print. His eyes fell on Ichigo's backpack, filled with school textbooks and homework papers, "_Oh yeah,_" He thought, "_That's why._"

(A/N: I know Mia Ikumi always uses strawberries for Berry, but I don't like to do that usually because I think that's kind of Ichigo's thing, so I gave her raspberries instead!)

Tasuku was "helping him" with his math homework, though he didn't even have any, so how they were going to pull this off he had no idea. Currently, though, Tasuku was getting something from his room, next door, while Ichigo and Berry were "getting comfy" as they had put it, though Kish had no idea as to what that could mean.

He leaned his head back, hitting it against the window frame softly, "_What did he get me into?_"

Kish jumped, startled, when someone crawled through the window. "Ah!" When he looked over, he saw Tasuku with an orange folder in his hands.

"Hey," He said and held up the folder, "This is actually my homework, but we can just say that it's yours and I already finished mine."

Kish raised an eyebrow, "You're going to lie to your girlfriend?"

Tasuku looked from the folder, to him, back to the folder, and then at Kish again, "No. Berry knows that I will definitely not have my homework done by now, so of course she'll ask me about it and I'll tell her that I'm helping you and hopefully she'll help too."

"Okay, so what if she asks you about it in front of Ichigo?" Kish asked.

A clueless look crossed Tasuku's face, "Um…I don't know." He shrugged, "We'll figure something out."

Kish sighed and shook his head; did Tasuku really think they'd figure _everything _out? Because the chances of that ever happening weren't the greatest.

When the girls came back in, Ichigo was wearing a tight, pink tank top that had green noodle-straps with comfy black pajama pants that had a strawberry iron-on on the left leg, and Berry was wearing a light pink t-shirt that had a little, white bunny on the front with white plaid pajama pants and white ankle socks.

Kish glanced at the clock, **8:15**, why were they in their sleepwear? Or was this what they meant by "get comfy"?

"So, Kish," Ichigo said as she crawled onto the bed, "When do you have to go home?"

"Uh…" Kish thought for a moment, trying to remember the curfew Pai had given him, "Um, by eleven." Though he thought it might be a bit earlier than that, but it wasn't like he really cared.

"Hm." Ichigo crossed her legs and pulled her backpack onto the bed, pulling out her folder of math homework.

Tasuku held up his orange folder for all to see, "I have your homework," Though he was only talking to Kish.

"Where's yours?" Berry asked.

"Already finished!" Tasuku grinned at her and Berry raised an eyebrow, he knew she was already suspicious from Kish suddenly tagging along, and now him supposedly having his homework done before she did was just increasing that suspicion.

"Okay." Berry said, planning on questioning him later.

* * *

Ichigo flopped back onto the bed, "Can we take a break now? We've been studying for the past two hours."

Berry giggled, "Sure, I think my brain will melt if we don't stop soon anyway."

Kish and Tasuku chuckled. "Kousagi-chan, I don't think your brain will melt, you're to smart for that!" Tasuku said.

Berry smirked and rolled her eyes, "Come on, lets go get a snack."

The four ventured down to the kitchen, being quite so as not to wake up Berry's father. He only knew of Ichigo being there, not his daughter's boyfriend and his friend.

Once they got down there, Tasuku said, "You ladies just go sit down in the living room and let the men take care of everything!"

Quite amused, the girls stopped in the doorway, "Okay," Berry said, "But the _men_ had better not blow up the kitchen."

Tasuku laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck, "No worries…" The girl walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, each curling up comfortably.

"Please tell me you know how to cook," Kish whispered, "Because I don't know any recipes from my planet let alone _human_ ones!"

A blank look crossed Tasuku's face, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that."

"Forgot about what?" Kish whispered cautiously.

Tasuku looked a little sheepish and embarrassed, "I don't know how to cook."

Kish just about fell over, "How do you forget something like that?!"

"Do you need any help?" Berry asked from the living room, she could hear everything.

"Nope, nope," Tasuku said, "We're good!" He looked back to Kish and whispered, "What should we do then?"

"I don't know!" Kish whispered back, "This was your plan!"

"Alright, just…what do they both like?" Tasuku asked.

"I have no idea what Berry likes," Kish said, "She's _your_ girlfriend, but I know Ichigo loves strawberries. Anything with strawberries."

"Okay," Tasuku sighed, "Berry likes strawberries too, so…how about strawberry smoothies?"

"What's a smoothie?" Kish asked.

Tasuku smacked his hand to his forehead, "This is basic human info, dude! How can you not know what a smoothie is?"

"Well sorry," Kish said, "But food wasn't exactly what I came here to study."

Tasuku sighed, "Obviously, but anyway, I do know how to make smoothies so now all we need is the berries." He went to the fridge and pulled out a clear, plastic container of strawberries.

In the living room, Ichigo and Berry were talking about the upcoming party Minto's parents were supposedly having and they were both invited, along with the rest of the mews and they could each bring a date.

"Minto wants to go dress shopping with us," Berry said, "She said it was to make sure we didn't under-dress or anything."

Ichigo smirked, "Or it could be that she just wants to hang out with you guys, I bet she cares a lot more than she likes to show."

Berry smiled, "Yeah, you're probably right." They heard the blender start up in the kitchen, "Hey, you know what? You should come with us!"

"W-what? Really?" Ichigo looked surprised, "Um, I don't know, I mean, it'd be weird-"

"I bet Minto would _love_ for you to tag along!" Berry said, "We all would."

Ichigo blushed a little, "Yeah, but, I kind of…wasn't really planning on even going."

"No? Why not?" Berry asked.

"Well," Ichigo sighed, "It's just, it'd be to weird, I mean, I hardly know you guys anymore and…" She trailed off, sighing again.

Berry was about to say something, but a loud crash and the sound of an engine dying came from the kitchen as both girls looked to the doorway, quite alarmed and surprised.

"What…was that?" Ichigo asked.

"I have no idea." Berry said, shaking her head slowly.

Kish and Tasuku walked in, both grinning, covered in something liquidy and pink, and each holding two parfait glasses filled with the same liquid pink. It was quite obvious they were trying not to burst into laughter because they were already stifling giggles as it was.

"What happened in there?" Berry asked worriedly as she took the glass Tasuku handed to her.

"Oh, nothing." Kish answered, sitting next to Ichigo and handing her a glass as well.

Tasuku sat down next to Berry and they began to drink their smoothies. "So," Tasuku said, "How are they?"

"Yum!" Both girls replied, smiling at both of the boys.

* * *

_A little girl…yellow hair, yellow eyes, she's chasing after her. "Cat ears! Cat ears!" They're in front of a building…it looks familiar, like she'd been there before. "What about a cat?" They look up and…someone kissed her? Or just get really close? She couldn't tell, he pulled back and licked his lips, "The name's K-"_

Ichigo woke up with a gasp, her breathing deep and drawn out, and a light sheen of sweat on her forehead. What was with that dream? It was still dark outside, she looked over at the alarm clock that read two-seventeen, then she looked over at Berry who was still sound asleep on the other side of the bed, next to her, and sighed. "_But that's all it was…_" She told herself, "_A dream…_"

* * *

Me: Ichigo had her first flashback type thingy!

Tasuku: I was reading some of the stuff you had planned for other chapters and, why is Minto hyperventilating?

Me: XD Tasukuuuu! You're gonna give away the story! And you two made a HUGE mess in the kitchen, you know!

Kish: That's because _someone _didn't know how to use the blender!

Tasuku: Well sorry! But I didn't think it would be that hard!

Me: *sigh* You guys are hopeless, you know that?

Kish: Even I know that you're supposed to hold the top down!

Tasuku: Read and Review please!!! I wanna know why Minto is hyperventilating!


	7. Shopping

Me: I only got two reveiws for the last chapter, but seeing as it was a little boring, I decided to post another chapter that is hopefully not so boring.

Kish: Ichigo sitll doesn't remember me!

Me: Yes, that's kinda the whole point to most of the story! Now, do the disclaimer!

Kish: *sigh* fine...**In the end of Tokyo Mew Mew, I did not kill Aoyoma and end up with Ichigo, this should be proof enough that StrawberryKousagi does not, in fact, own Tokyo Mew Mew in any way.**

Me: Thank you.

* * *

Berry had just put on her school uniform's socks when she heard Tasuku crawl in through the window, ready and more than willing to walk her to school, even though he had to get up a full hour early just to do it, and today Ichigo would be walking with them, though as of right now the pink haired girl was getting dressed in the bathroom.

"Tasuku," Berry said sternly to catch the boy's full attention, "Why did you say your homework was Kish's?" She looked up at him, her face completely serious and obvious that, right now, she wouldn't tolerate _any_ messing around.

Tasuku smiled sheepishly as his girlfriend, "Eh heh, well, you see…" Berry raised an eyebrow, waiting for a response. "Kish kinda convinced me to help him get Ichigo's memory back." He had spoken so fast it took the blond a few moments to register what he had even said.

Blinking a few times and folding her arms across her chest, Berry ask; "Um…he did _what_?"

Tasuku shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously in front of the window, "He…convinced me to-"

"I heard you!" Berry said, "But why'd you agree to it?" It was obvious that she was not happy about this.

"Well," Tasuku said, "He asked me what I would do if _you_ didn't remember me anymore," She grinned her, looking a little guilty, "And I thought about it and realized that I would be doing the same and I'd want help too so…"

Berry looked surprised, sure when Ichigo had remembered everything she had told her that Kish could be tricky, but she didn't expect him to be that _smart_. Then again, it didn't exactly take a genius to figure out that her beloved boyfriend would do the craziest of things for no reason but for her.

She sighed, unfolding her arms putting her hands on her hips, "I must admit, I wouldn't expect him to think of something like that, but…"

"I knew you'd know his homework was actually mine." Tasuku admitted, "I kind of did that on purpose."

She raised an eyebrow again, "Why?"

"I want you to help to," Tasuku said, "I know-" But before he could finish, Ichigo opened the door, knocking first, and entered.

"You ready to go?" She asked, completely clueless as to what was just being discussed only a second ago.

Berry smiled at her, "Yeah." She shot a glance at Tasuku that clearly meant they'd be continuing their conversation later.

Kish sighed as he lay on his bed, he had gone back to the ship the night before at eleven, just like he'd said he would, though apparently Pai had said that ten thirty was his curfew, meaning he was a half an hour late. But, since he had work at the café now, which Pai still didn't quite understand as to how he began working there, Kish got out of being grounded.

He rolled over onto his side, he didn't have to leave for another hour, but what was he going to do? He couldn't just randomly go bug Ichigo, she was at school and he didn't know where her new school even was, plus she'd probably think it creepy and weird.

"Hey, Kish!" He heard Tart's muffled voice call from the kitchen, "Come here!"

"Why?" Kish called back.

"Just do it!"

Kish heaved another sigh as he rolled off his bed to see what they boy wanted, taking his time by walking there instead of just teleporting. Once he got to the kitchen, however, Tart was grinning, holding a bag of something called "pancake mix". Kish guessed he had been at Purin's house, because he was still wearing human clothes and hadn't even bothered to take off his hat yet.

Kish raised an eyebrow, "What's up?"

"Can you help me make pancakes?" Tart asked, obviously exited about trying a new food. "Purin told me they're _really_ good!"

"Tart," Kish said, "The last time I tried making something, I nearly blew up the kitchen, well, and actually that was Tasuku, but anyway! I'm not the greatest cook."

Tart raised an eyebrow as he began to pour too much of the baking powder into a large, glass bowl, "Yeah, that's right, you've been hanging with that human guy a lot lately."

"He's helping me get Ichigo's memory back." Kish said casually.

Tart looked up at him, tilting the bag up so the powder stopped pouring out, "You're trying to what?"

"Get Ichigo's memory back." Kish said, putting his hands on the counter as he stared into the mixing bowl.

Tart set the bag down, "You know Ryou's gonna kill you, right?"

Kish shrugged, "If he finds out." Tart just sighed and shook his head, why did Kish have to be so obsessed with the girl?

It was after school by now and also after work at Café Mew Mew for the workers there. The girl's were all sitting around a table, chatting about Minto's parents' upcoming party and what kinds of dresses they should wear while they waited for Ichigo to arrive who they'd finally been able to convince to go with them at school during lunch when they'd forced her to sit with them.

Kish and Tasuku sat at their own table, staring at the girls, wondering how they could talk so long about something so simple as dress shopping, well, it was simple to them anyway. Berry still hadn't talked to Tasuku about helping Kish, which is why she was walking up to him now, having excused herself from the rest of the mews.

"Tasuku-kun?" She said sweetly, in the voice Tasuku knew meant she wanted to talk to him alone, "Can we talk for a minute? Privately?" Yup, he was right.

"Sure." Tasuku said, standing up. Kish watched as they made their way to the back hallways, sighing, bored, as he rested his elbow on the table.

Just then, the door opened and Ichigo walked in, wearing a denim miniskirt, a pale pink Strawberry Shortcake t-shirt and her usual boots with the hot pink laces, a black cat-shaped backpack slung over one shoulder. Her pigtails swayed a little in the breeze that blew through the door behind her.

Kish stared at her intently, taking in every moment he got to see her, knowing it wasn't going to last much longer. Ichigo glanced at him before she was bombarded with hugs and chatter from Purin, Minto, Retasu, and Zakuro, each taking their turn with hugging her.

"So, Ichigo," Minto said, "I was thinking of getting a lavender dress, or do you think blue suits me better?"

Glancing at Kish again, then back to Minto, Ichigo answered; "I think you look best in blues, or a bluish green color like mint."

Minto looked interested at the idea of a mint green rather than lavender or blue as Berry and Tasuku walked back into the room, he with an arm around her waist.

"Kish," Berry said, smiling at him, he slowly looked at her, his eyes lingering on Ichigo for a few seconds, "Get changed, you and Tasuku are coming with us."

There was dead silence.

"Um…_what_?" Minto said.

"Kish and Tasuku are coming with us," Berry said, "I think it'd be nice to have a guy's opinion."

Kish raised an eyebrow at Tasuku who grinned back at him. Kish caught on; this was either a way to help him with Ichigo or Berry punishing them. Either way, he still got to be with Ichigo, even if it was with six other people.

A few minutes later and he had changed into his human clothes; jeans with a brown button-up shirt that had short sleeves and a small picture of a black dragon ironed on to the breast pocket, and his black beanie to hide his ears, he'd been wearing it all day as usual.

"What do you think?" Ichigo asked, examining herself in a strapless hot pink dress that reached the floor, staring into a dressing room mirror.

Kish stared at her in awe, the girl looked beautiful no matter _what_ she wore, "I love it." He said. He was sitting in one of the many chairs lined against the wall, Tasuku a few down from him, waiting for Berry to come out.

Ichigo spun around, "Really?" She looked hopeful, like her decision was going to be based on what _he_ thought and he was loving every second of it.

Minto came out of the dressing booth she'd been using in a mint green dress that reached her ankles with dark blue lace straps and small, fake, dark blue bird feathers made into a belt around her hips. "Ichigo!" She called, "What do you think?"

Ichigo spun again, looking at her, she grinned, "I like it! It really suits you!" She was definitely glad they'd convinced her to go, she was having a _blast_! She turned back to Kish, "You really think this one looks good?" She heard Minto close the door as she went back into the booth.

Kish nodded, "You look beautiful."

Ichigo looked up from under her eyelashes, blushing but not letting Kish see it, for some reason she felt like that was the last thing she wanted, was for him to know he could make her blush, though she didn't know why.

Tasuku sighed just as Berry walked out, wearing a white dress that had a corset-like top with light pink ribbon lacing up the back, and ended just a few inches below her ankles. "Well?" She said to Tasuku, "What do you think?"

Tasuku raised an eyebrow, "It really took you that long to put on a dress?" He shrank back a little when Berry put her hands on her hips, leaning forward slightly as she gave him a look. "You look beautiful! As always!" He blurted out.

Kish chuckled at this, Tasuku could be pretty dumb sometimes. He looked back to Ichigo just as she closed the door to her dressing room booth to change into yet another dress for Kish to says he looked nice in, he was just wondering when she'd realize that he was going to tell her that she looked absolutely beautiful no matter what dress she put on. He sighed, leaning back, a small smile on his lips.

A few minutes later he jerked his head up to see Ichigo walk out of the booth. His mouth dropped open a little. She was wearing a sugar pink dress that brushed the floor, it had a corset-like top with a gold ribbons lacing up the front, and off-the-shoulder straps, the gold ribbons tying into a neat little bow at the bottom with excess ribbon streaming down to her mid-thighs.

"What do you think?" Ichigo asked. Kish didn't respond, he just kept staring. Ichigo looked worried, "That bad?"

Kish looked up at her face, "N-no! It's beautiful! You're beautiful!"

Berry looked over at them, smirking, as she walked back into the changing booth. She knew this would happen.

Ichigo blushed, this time not trying to hide it. "Really?" She always asked this with every dress.

"Yes!" Kish said, "You…you're gorgeous."

If possible, Ichigo's blush deepened. She sucked in a breath, letting it out as she spoke, "I think maybe I'll go with this one."

Zakuro walked out, wearing a simple black dress with noodle-straps, she looked at Ichigo, "You should," She agreed, smiling at her a little, "You look like a princess."

Kish glanced from Zakuro to Ichigo, thinking; "_More like a _goddess_!_"

The girls, Tasuku, and Kish were all sitting around a table in the mall's food court, having gotten a pizza for all eight to share.

Kish looked around, amazed at how many people were there, walking around, on cell phones, or even just simply sitting on a bench. Scanning over some people behind him, he spotted two teenaged boys looking intently over at something, whispering back and forth, and one gestured over to…Ichigo. Kish glanced in the direction the boy had pointed and saw it led strait to Ichigo. He felt a feeling of possessiveness and jealousy bubbling up in him, she was _his_ and _his_ only, no one was going to take her from him, not when he finally had a chance.

Tasuku glanced at Kish and immediately recognized the annoyed and angry glare he was so intently giving two boys sitting at a table behind them. He nudged him with his elbow, "Dude," He said, "Just ignore it, they won't try anything when there's thin many people with her unless they're just that stupid."

Grumbling something incoherent, Kish slowly turned back to his slice of pizza. "Hey, what'd you talk about with Berry anyway?" He asked, "Back at the café, 'cause now I'm starting to this she's trying to help us."

Tasuku nodded, swallowing a bite, "She is." Kish raised his eyebrows. "I convinced her to help, though she said if Ryou finds out, the death wish is being placed on you and you only."

Kish laughed lightly, "Sure, _if_ Ryou finds out before Ichigo gets her memory back."

"_If_ Ichigo gets her memory back." Tasuku said. Kish simply shrugged, taking another bite of his pizza.

That night, after the girl's had each gotten a dress and gone home, Ichigo was sitting in her room, cross-legged on her bed, a sketchpad in her lap as she put her full concentration into her drawing, jumping and sending her pencil flying when her pink laptop, placed neatly on her desk, chimed a cute tune, signaling that someone had sent her an Instant Message. She sighed, setting her pad aside, as she crawled off the bed to answer it. It was Berry, her penname being _BerryBunny_.

_BerryBunny: Hey, you there?_

Ichigo responded, her own penname being _StrawberryKitten_.

_StrawberryKitten: Yeah, I was drawing_

_BerryBunny: Cool. Drawing what?_

Ichigo glanced back at her sketchpad, still lying on her bed, not sure if she should tell her or not, considering it was a little weird. A boy, small and wearing clothing that a jester would wear, complete with a small staff, at the top it was labeled _Happy Child_, though as to where the name and picture came from, she didn't know, but it wasn't like something she'd ever drawn before.

_StrawberryKitten: Just doodling_

_BerryBunny: You remember how Minto said we could bring a date to her party?_

_StrawberryKitten: Yeah, why?_

_BerryBunny: I think you should ask Kish_

_StrawberryKitten: I should…ask Kish? But, we like, just met!_

On her own laptop, Berry smiled, this was what she'd agreed to do with helping Kish; play matchmaker. Though Kish himself had no idea about this.

_BerryBunny: So? He likes you_

_StrawberryKitten: You think?_

_BerryBunny: Trust me, even Tasuku can see it_

_StrawberryKitten: Well, then it MUST be true_

_BerryBunny: Ha ha, funny, but really, Minto's never going to invite him and I think you guys would make for a cute pair_

_StrawberryKitten: Why wouldn't Minto invite him? Does she like him?_

_BerryBunny: Oh Kami no! Just the opposite! She can't stand him_

_StrawberryKitten: Then why bring him to her party? I don't think she'd like that…_

_BerryBunny: Ichigo, just ask him to the party, he'll be thrilled to go with you and I'm sure once Minto get's over the fact that he's there she won't mind since he's YOUR date_

Ichigo blushed at the word "date" and sighed.

_StrawberryKitten: I'll think about it okay?_

_BerryBunny: You'd better, but I have to get to bed now, night!_

_StrawberryKitten: Sleep well_

_BerryBunny: You too_

_{BerryBunny has signed off}_

Ichigo heaved a sigh, leaning back in her chair as she signed out of her AIM for the night. Should she really ask Kish to the party?

* * *

Me: Okay, so this is probably the longest chapter yet, which is cool. I hope everyone liked Ichigo's dress and if you're confused about the drawing she did that she named "Happy Child", it's the kid from the Saint Rose Cursaders, the one that can send out the really high pitched noises.

Kish: If you still don't get it, then either read or re-read Tokyo Mew Mew: A La Mode.

Tasuku: Trust me, it's worth it!

Me: That's because it has the awesomeness of you and Berry in it.

Tasuku: Exactly. Nowk, R&R please!

Me: In an anger managment course, R and R would mean Rephrase and Redirect.

Kish: You read to much.

Me: . I do not!

Kish: Oh, really? How about I ask your mom then?

Me: XD No! She'll agree with you!

Tasuku: Then you read to much.

Me: Noooo! Not you toooo!


	8. Author's Note

Hello readers, I have a message for you. It is an explenation to why **With Sugar on Top** started to get a kind of lame, I'm pretty sure I can only handle one story at a time because I'm getting behind on other things with trying to keep up two story's and I can't take the time I need to write a full chapter that is nice, well written, and that people will like. So until my other story, **Welcom to Berry Sky Farm!**, is finished, I will not be updating this anymore, and after that I will be rewriting it starting from chapter two and on.

That is all I have to say, thank you!


	9. Chimera Animas?

Me: Okay, so I know what I said about finishing my other story first, buuuuuuut I got caught up on what I needed to and made that rice pudding that my dad and uncle wanted me to, or attempted to at least, it didn't come out right since the oven wasn't working and I had to use the toaster-over -.- Anyway, I have a new and long awaited -heh heh, not really- new chapter! I had so many eggs to wash it wasn't even funny, which is why I thought I might have to stop this for a while, because I had three full baskets that needed to get done and both sides of the sink was full of eggs, so I was like, "Waaaah! To many eggs!" and this upcoming schoolyear will be my first in public since kindergarden! But anyway, on with the story! Oh, and I actually ended up not editing anything :D

And this is to **Meg**: I updated and I would have emailed you like you said to but...your email wans't there so, gomen!

Kish: Ichigo still doesn't remember me!

Me: *sigh*

**Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not and will never own Tokyo Mew Mew.**

* * *

Ichigo's eyes flutter open and she yawns, stretching, as she sits up. She stares out the window dazedly, wondering what her dream had been about. She was wearing a café uniform, it was hot pink and…she was cleaning things up left and right!

Shrugging it off, Ichigo clambered out of bed to get dressed for the day, she was late for work. Again.

* * *

Ichigo was dressed in a pleated, pink plaid miniskirt with a white, short-sleeved button up shirt and a light pink noodle-trap tank top underneath it. The weather report had said it would be sunny all day, but it was raining now as she stood under a canopy outside of a small coffee shop.

She gasped as someone suddenly dropped a pale green jacket onto her shoulders. "Kish!" She said, surprised, when she saw who it was.

He smiled at her, "Hey, 'sup?"

Ichigo smiled back, relieved that it had not been some creepy stranger, "Not much, just on my way home from work."

"Ah, got off early today, huh?" Kish asked.

Ichigo looked at him, "How'd you know?"

"I'm still on duty." Kish said.

Ichigo giggled, "You say that like you're in the military!"

Kish smirked, "_That would be because I am._" He thought to himself.

"But if you're still working," Ichigo said, "Then why are you out here?"

"I'm on break," Kish answered, "And Keiichiro asked me to get a few things from the store."

"I see," Ichigo said, she looked to the ground and blushed when Berry's suggestion popped into her mind. She took in a deep breath, "Hey, um, Kish? I was…wondering-"

"Why don't we go into the coffee shop?" Kish suggested, interrupting her as he glanced over his shoulder at the small store behind them.

"Huh?" Ichigo looked up at him.

"Since it's raining," Kish said, "Let's go into the coffee shop! I still have time, want to?"

"Uh…sure!" Ichigo smiled at him and they walked in.

They sat at a small table for two. The place was very quaint and café-like, though nothing even close to Café Mew Mew, the carpet was a chocolate brown and the walls were a tan color with large, brown circles that overlapped each other, and up in one corner was a small TV.

* * *

Berry sighed, wiping her arm across her forehead as she leaned on the table, she had just finished washing five of the tables in record time because Retasu and Purin had had a "little" accident.

"Girls!" Ryou called from the basement, sounding urgent, "Get everyone out of the café! We have some…some plumbing problems!"

"Uh, hai!" Berry exclaimed and she and the other mews began to usher everyone out of the café, packaging their unfinished treats into to-go boxes.

Once they were all in the basement, Minto was the first to speak up. "What's wrong?"

"There's several Chimera Anima in the city park!" Ryou said, "Go! Now!"

"Hai!" With that, all five rushed out.

"MEW MEW BERRY! METAMORPHOSIS!"

"MEW MEW MINT! METAMORPHOSIS!"

"MEW MEW LETTUCE! METAMORPHOSIS!"

"MEW MEW PUDDING! METAMORPHOSIS!"

"MEW MEW ZAKURO! METAMORPHOSIS!"

* * *

Ichigo and Kish were talking, sitting at the café table, and enjoying themselves. The older people in the small place gave them glances every so often, thinking they were a cute, young couple.

Kish sighed and sat back, glancing at the TV in the corner. Then he looked again, shocked. All the mews, save for Ichigo, were fighting a Chimera Anima. The reporter spoke.

"_The girls of Tokyo Mew Mew are back! Fighting what looks like a mutated dog of some sort!"_ Did they even notice that Mew Strawberry was missing? Kish guessed not. _"There are also several others of these creatures throughout the park!"_

Ichigo twisted around in her seat to look at the screen, "Hey, Tokyo Mew Mew, no one's seen them in a while."

"Huh?" Kish looked back down at Ichigo, "What do you mean?"

"Well, about three months ago they just kind of…stopped," Ichigo said, "It was weird, like they disappeared or something."

"_Three months ago?_" Kish thought, "_Wasn't that when Ichigo…forgot?_"

"Here's your order!" The cheerful barista set the drinks on the table for them.

* * *

"I don't get it!" Minto said once they were back at the café, "You said we got all the Animas, like, a _month_ ago!"

"Yeah, na no da!" Purin exclaimed.

"I thought you did," Ryou said, "But I guess there were more!"

"Why would they show up _now_, though?" Berry asked, "After a whole month? That seems a little weird!"

"Perhaps…" Zakuro started, "Hmmm…"

"What is it?" Keiichiro asked.

"The aliens." Zakuro said. "It's a bit odd isn't it? That Chimera Animas would suddenly show up after they arrive?"

"Zakuro-oneesan is right!" Minto said, "That is _so_ weird! Just what are they up to?!"

"Nothing." A new voice entered the room, everyone looked to see Pai and Tart. "We have nothing to do with the recent Chimera Animas."

"What if it's Kish?" Ryou asked, "Since when does he ever follow the rules?"

"Chimera Animas are the very reason Mew Ichigo lost her memory," Pai stated, "We'll be lucky if we ever get him to use one again!"

"Pai is right." Berry said, "I doubt Kish would do that, he cares too much for Ichigo."

"Speaking of which," Ryou said, "Where is Kish? He was supposed to be back a half hour ago."

* * *

"Thanks again," Ichigo said as she stood on her doorstep with Kish.

"No problem!" Kish said, smiling at her. "But I gotta go now. Bye!"

"Bye!" Ichigo watched as he retreated down the front path, then she remembered something. "Oh! Kish, wait!" She ran up to him.

Kish turned, looking at her, "What is it?"

"Um…" Ichigo stared at the ground, blushing, as she dug the tip of her shoe into the cement, "I was…I was just wondering…if maybe you want to, um, go to Minto's part with me…" Kish just stared at her for a minute, to shocked to speak, but Ichigo got the wrong impression. "I mean, you don't _have_ to, you can say no if don't want to-"

Kish cut her off with a quick peck on the lips, "I'd love to!"

Ichigo's cheeks turned beet red as she stood there, speechless. Kish chuckled at how cute she looked and headed back towards the café. Ichigo spun around and ran into her house, running up the stairs and flying onto her bed, landing on her stomach. She giggled into her pillow when something green caught her eye, she looked over and noticed that she was still wearing Kish's jacket. She blushed and figures she'd stop by Café Mew Mew the next day to give it back.

* * *

Me: Ta da! Who's spitting out the Chimera Animas for the mews to fight? What will happen when Ichigo gives Kish back his jacket?! Where was Tasuku?! Lol, actually I just kind of forgot him, sorry!

Tasuku: How could you forget me?! I'm one of your favorite charaters!

Me: I know! I'm horrible! *sob*

Kish: Read and Review please!

* * *

Minto is sitting at a café table, she sips her tea with grace. "Ichigo, table five needs you!" "Right away!" "Retasu! Watch out!" "Waaaah!" "Purin, don't play with that!" She's running around like crazy, wearing a hot pink waitress uniform, "I'll help!" Berry races out of the kitchen in a light pink one. Ichigo sighs, "Thanks a ton, Berry!" "No problem! That's what friends are for, right?" They smile at each oth


	10. Berry isn't Ichigo!

Me: I think there's a ghost following me! First, sometimes when I'm alone I hear these weird noises, like water running or footsteps when I'm _completely_ alone, and then, today, I glanced over my shoulder and thought I saw someone, but when I looked back there was no one there! *shivers*

Kish: I think you're just paranoid.

Me: That is true but still! It's creepy! Oh yeah! To try and get the ghost thing off my mind, I have a question! Would someone mind helping me decide what I should do as far as the Chimera Animas? I'm not sure if I should have new aliens, the Saint Rose Crusaders came back, or what. I also thought about bringing Ringo in and making it that Gato had come back...but I don't know! So, I would like some oppinions if it's okay. Anyway, on with the story!

**Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew nor anything related to it.**

"Talking..." "_Thinking..._"

* * *

Kish was sitting on the roof of a skyscraper, staring out at the city, all the bright lights and people walking around, it was night by now and he couldn't contain it anymore.

"Yes!" He shouted, punching the air, he had planned on him being the one to ask her out first, but she had beat him to it, either way it was still a date. He heard snickering from somewhere behind him and turned to see who it was.

"What's up with you?" Tart asked, "Ichigo ask you out or something?"

"As a matter of fact, she did." Kish said smugly.

Tart looked surprised, "Really?"

"Yeah, to Mint's party." Kish said.

"You know you keep saying her name wrong, right?" Tart said.

Kish shrugged, "So?"

Tart sighed, "Well, anyway, Pai said you have to come back to the ship now, it's getting late and he doesn't want you out past ten."

Kish chuckled softly, "He sounds like Dad."

Tart smirked, "Yeah, he does."

* * *

The next day, after school and part-time jobs…

Ichigo had just now finished the picture she'd been drawing of the girl with wings and was putting it up in the window like the store's manager had told her to do before her shift ended.

"Hey." A voice said from behind her.

She looked over her shoulder and saw it was the blond guy from Café Mew Mew, "Oh, hey," She hopped down from the ladder she'd been standing on, "What's up? Uh…Ryou, right?"

"Yeah," He said, "I was just passing by and saw you, thought I'd say hi."

"Oh, well, hi." Ichigo said.

"You seem to be coming by the café more than usual lately." Ryou said, "Not that I mind it."

As Ichigo folded to ladder, she said; "Yeah, I guess so, I was planning on going over today to."

"What for?" Ryou asked, "I mean, obviously to see your friends, but it's like ever since Kish came, you've been around more."

Ichigo stopped, still holding the ladder, "Really?" Ryou nodded. "Huh. Well, I do have to give him back his jacket."

Ryou raised an eyebrow, "What jacket?"

"He let me borrow his jacket," Ichigo said, blushing, "When we went to this coffee shop yesterday because it was raining."

"What were you doing with Kish?" Ryou asked.

"We were just-" Ichigo stopped short, turning to the blond, "Do you have a problem with me being with Kish?" She held the ladder with one hand and placed the other on her hip.

"N- well, maybe you should ask Berry about him." With that, Ryou walked away, leaving behind a rather confused Ichigo.

---

"RIBBON…MINT ECHO!"

"RIBBON…PUDDING RING INFERNO!"

"RIBBON…ZAKURO SPEAR!"

"RIBBON…LOVEBERRY CHECK!"

"RIBBON…LETTUCE RUSH!"

With all five attacks, the Chimera Anima was destroyed.

Minto panted, "That was the third time this week we've had to fight these things!"

"You're right." Zakuro said.

"Is it just me, or are these things getting harder and harder to beat?" Berry asked.

"Berry-oneechan is right, na no da!" Purin exclaimed, "They _are_ getting harder!"

Minto sighed, "This is to weird! But whatever, let's head back to the café, Ryou's waiting for us." The girls powered down and started for Café Mew Mew when Minto's cell phone rang.

She pulled the blue device out of her purse and answered, "Moshi moshi?"

"_Minto! It's me, Ichigo._" Minto had to admit, she was rather surprised that Ichigo still had her number.

"Ah! Ichigo, how are you?" The mews listened to what they could of the conversation, Berry being the only one really able to hear everything.

"_Just fine, you?_"

"Good, good."

"_Hey, I was just wondering, when exactly is your parents' party?_"

"Saturday, the girls are planning on meeting at the café around twelve in the afternoon; you should meet up with them, too."

"_Hmm…alright, I guess I can…oh! Would Berry happen to be with you?_"

"Yeah, just a sec." Minto handed the phone to Berry, "She wants to talk to you."

Berry looked a little surprised, but took it anyway, "Yeah?"

"_Hi!_" Ichigo's voice came through the phone.

"Hi, what's up?" Berry asked.

"_Well, that blond guy –Ryou- was passing by were I work today and stopped to say hi and, well, he said some stuff…_"

"What stuff?" Berry asked, sounding concerned.

"_Stuff about…Kish. He said to ask you about him._"

"Why?" Berry asked, the rest of the mews listened intently.

"_I'm not really sure, he just seemed, I don't know, worried about me spending so much time with him._"

"You were with Kish?"

"_Yeah…I asked him…to Minto's party._" On the other end of the line, Ichigo was blushing, just thinking about it.

"Great!" Berry said, "Good for you!"

"_Thanks! But…what would I need to know about Kish? I mean, for Ryou sound kind of worried like that…_"

"Um…" Berry blinked, biting her lower lip as she tried to think of something to say, "I…well, there's nothing you need to know, really, but…"

"_But what?_"

"It's nothing!" Berry said, "Just…don't worry about it, I'm sure it was just Ryou being protective of you! You used to be like his little sister, you know?"

Berry heard Ichigo sigh, "_Yeah, I guess…well, that was it, thanks, and bye!"_

"Bye!" With that, Ichigo hung up and then Berry slowly snapped the phone shut.

"What's up?" Minto asked.

"Ryou said something to Ichigo about Kish," Berry said, "And I want to know what…"

Kish was wiping down a table when Tasuku walked to him, a washcloth folded over his arm. "You look unusually happy today."

Kish chuckled, "Am I that obvious?"

"You are." Tasuku said.

"Ichigo asked me to Mint's party!" Kish said, beaming a bright smile.

"Really?" Tasuku asked. "Well, I'm actually not that surprised, Berry said she should."

Kish's face fell, "She was told to?"

"Not really," Tasuku said, "Berry only suggested it, asking you was totally up to the strawberry."

Kish smiled again, happy that it had not been because she was simply told to, but because she wanted to.

The door opened and the girls walked in. "Where's Ryou?" Berry asked immediately.

"Right here." Said blond haired boy walked out of the kitchen, "How'd it go?"

"They're getting harder to beat every time!" Minto complained.

"Can I talk to you?" Berry asked him.

"Uh, sure, I guess." Ryou said, he turned and they walked into the kitchen.

"What's up with Berry?" Tasuku asked.

Minto sighed, "I'm not sure, something about something Ryou said."

In the kitchen, Berry asked Ryou; "What'd you say to Ichigo about Kish?"

"Nothing," Ryou said.

"Well obviously it was _something_!" Berry said.

"I just…" Ryou sighed, running a hand through his hair, "I don't like her spending so much time with him."

"Why not?!" Berry demanded, "He's perfectly nice, and it's not like he's trying any of his old stuff!"

"You weren't even here for that!" Ryou exclaimed. Berry flinched. "Sorry." He mumbled.

"It's fine." Berry sighed, "But don't go to Ichigo and tell her things about him that she doesn't need to know."

"I know what Kish is up to." Ryou stated, "He's trying to get her memory back."

"So?" Berry said, "You know, it might be a good thing. It's not fair to us and it's definitely not fair to Ichigo! She deserves to know who she really is!"

"Berry, there is a ten percent-"

"­_Five_ percent!" Berry interrupted him, "There is a five percent chance that something will happen, Kish had Pai ran a test on his computer and that was his result."

Ryou raised an eyebrow, "And how do they know it was accurate? They didn't have her to test on."

"Neither did you!" Berry said, "All you had to go off of was a _chance_ test!"

Ryou glared at her, "I don't approve of this."

"I don't care." Berry said. Without another word, the two each went their separate ways, Ryou to the basement and Berry to the front room.

---

It was only a few minutes later when Minto walked down the stairs to the basement and spotted Ryou sitting in his computer chair, alone.

She cleared her throat, "Um, Ichigo is here," Ryou turned his chair to look at her, "I just thought you'd like to know."

Ryou smiled at her and nodded, "Thanks."

"And also," Minto began, "What was it that you said to Ichigo? Berry said it was something about Kish?"

Ryou stood up, giving Minto a serious look, "Kish is trying to get Ichigo's memory back."

Minto took a few steps forward, "Is that…a bad thing?"

"Well, there is a chance something could happen to her," Ryou said, "A chance that I'm not willing to take."

Minto looked to the floor with a sad expression, "But…we all miss her."

"I know." Ryou said.

"Then why won't you let her remember us?!" Minto exclaimed, looking up at him. "We need Ichigo! We need our leader!"

"Berry makes a fine leader, Minto," Ryou said, "She's just as capable-"

"Berry isn't Ichigo!" Minto shouted, cutting him off. Her eyes began to water and she buried her face in her hands.

"Minto…" Ryou looked surprised, but then his expression softened and he walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her, "What's done is done, and we can't undo it."

Upstairs, in the front room, Kish and Ichigo were standing near the door while the rest of the employees had retreated to either the back hallways or the kitchen.

"Um, here." Ichigo said, blushing, as she held the pale green jacket out to him.

"Thanks." Kish took it, smiling at her.

"So, um, Minto said that everyone was going to meet here before her party and she'd have someone come pick them up," Ichigo said, "She said I should come to…are you going to?"

"I didn't know actually," Kish said, "I don't even think Minto knows I'll be there."

"Oh, well…" Ichigo adjusted her messenger bag that was hanging on her shoulder, the short, black strap suddenly feeling like it weighed a ton, though with her sketchpad and art pencils in it, it probably did. "Crap!" She squeaked when she accidently dropped it and it fell to the floor.

Immediately, both Ichigo and Kish were on the floor trying to gather everything back up.

"_God, I'm such a klutz!_" She thought to herself, blushing. When her hand bumped into Kish's she blushed a deeper red and pulled her hand back.

Curious as to what it was, the green haired alien picked up a piece of loose paper that had been in her sketchbook and looked at it. He smirked at it, though he didn't know what it was supposed to be exactly but Ichigo herself was in the center of the page dressed in a pink dress with a white apron and had…now this confused Kish as he looked at the people more closely, Ichigo drew cat features on herself, complete with the little bow on her tail, she was running after who he guessed was Masaya, though he was wearing a red waistcoat and a pocket watch and had white rabbit e ears, Minto was sitting on a mushroom and had wings, peeking out from behind a tree was Tart, with large ears, and Purin, with monkey features, dressed in orange shorts and yellow t-shirts. Up on one corner was Berry, with rabbit ears and a cat tail, wearing a white dress and next to her was a girl that Kish didn't recognize, but she was wearing a red dress and had a little, red bow on her head. Near Minto was Ryou with gray cat ears and a matching tail, and lastly, sitting in the grass, was Kish and Tasuku. Kish had large ears and Tasuku had rabbit ears, Kish was wearing a brown button-up vest and dark green pants and Tasuku was wearing a white button-up shirt and brown pants. How'd she know what animals everyone was and about the alien ears? There were a few people missing though, such as Zakuro, Keiichiro, Pai, and Retasu.

Ichigo snagged the picture, still blushing. "You shouldn't look at peoples' stuff without asking first."

"Sorry," Kish said, "Who're all those people?"

Ichigo looked up at him, raising an eyebrow, "You don't know what Alice in Wonderland is?" That wasn't quite what he'd been meaning but okay.

"Who in where?" Kish asked.

"Alice in Wonderland," Ichigo repeated. "A book by Luis Carrol?" Kish stared at her and shook his head slowly, not knowing what she was talking about. Ichigo sighed and stood up, putting the picture in her sketchbook and that in her bag. "Well, anyway, I guess I should get go-"

"Wait!" Kish said, she looked up at him, "Um…when's Minto's thing?"

"Her…?" Ichigo looked confused for a minute but then realization crossed her face, "Oh! You mean her parents' party? This Sunday, we're getting picked up around noon."

Kish nodded, smiling, "I'll be there then."

Ichigo smiled back. "Great! Bye."

"Bye." Kish watched as she walked out the door. Once she was gone, he looked down at his jacket; she must have worn it on her way there because it was still a little warm. He smiled at the thought and wondered if maybe it still smelled like her, but as Berry, Tasuku, Purin, and Zakuro returned to the room, he thought it best not to try finding out.

* * *

Me: To me, it seems like not that much happened in this chapter, that might be true or it might just be because I wrote it, but anyway! Sorry if Minto was a little OOC, but with Ichigo having her memory gone, everyone's going to be kind of emotional. And I'd like at least two or three reveiws for the next update please!

Tasuku: Thanks for Reading and please Reveiw!!!


	11. October September

Me: Yay! I got two reveiws! But I still don't know what to do; add new aliens, have the Saint Rose Crusaders come back, or add Ringo and make it Gato who's creating the new Chimera Animas...I'm really considering Ringo but...I just don't know! Anyway...um, so yeah, on with the story!

Thanks for Reveiwing:  
**FallingAngel27  
CrazyKisshuStalker-Nya**

**Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew nor anything related to it.**

* * *

Kish was leaning against around the back of Café Mew Mew. He was on his break and had decided to go outside for a little while and enjoy what was left of the summer air, autumn would being coming real soon and then it would be followed by winter. Kish rolled his head back, letting it hit the stone wall with a soft _thump_ when it hit it. Would they even still be on earth? Would Ichigo have her memory back by then? Kish smirked, beginning to daydream.

He imagined that he and Ichigo would be all bundled up in warm clothes, her looking as adorable as ever, and they would hold hands as they walked through the snowy park-

"Kish?" Tasuku's voice brought him back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, what's up?" Kish said, looking at him.

"You're break is over, Ryou sent me to find you." Tasuku answered, "Hey, you okay? You're not usually out of it like that."

Kish shrugged, "I'm fine…it's just, I know Pai isn't going to want to stay on earth forever, let alone a long time, but what if we can't get Ichigo's memory back until, I don't know, a few years? Or it could take even longer than that."

Tasuku let the screen door fall shut and stepped onto the stone path, "Um, well, we could try doing stuff that might make her remember."

"Like what?" Kish asked.

"Uh…stuff that she'd recognize?" Tasuku suggested, "Like, maybe…hey! You guys fought at a sakura tree park once, right? So why don't you take her there?"

"I don't know," Kish said, "That might be a little to quick, I think if there is a chance something could happen to her, it would be if to many memories came back at once, at least that's what Pai told me."

"Hmm, then I suppose getting her to try on her old uniform wouldn't be to good," Tasuku said, "Or seeing if she can still transform?"

Kish shook his head, "Pai said her powers are dormant until she remembers, but the uniform might actually work…"

"Well, whatever, we got to get back to work." Tasuku said. Kish pushed off from the wall and followed Tasuku back inside.

* * *

It was the day of Minto's parents' party and almost everyone was at the café; waiting for the limo the blue mew had promised would come to pick them up. Everyone was sitting around several tables, waiting, and dressed up very nicely, but the only one missing was Ichigo.

Berry was wearing a strapless white dress that reached her ankles and had light pink lace edging the top, with light pink high heels. Retasu was wearing a pale green dress that split at her knees and trailed to the ground in the back, edged with dark green ruffles, and had dark green lace straps, and her shoes were dark green, one-inch high heels. Purin was wearing an orange skirt that puffed out and had yellow lace trimming the top and hem, a tight, yellow corset-like tank top, white gloves that reached her elbows, white socks that reached her knees, and orange flats that had a thin, yellow strap going over her foot. Zakuro was wearing a strapless, dark violet dress that just barely reached the floor, black gloves that trailed all the way up her arms, and black high heels. The boys were each wearing a nice suit, Kish in a black one with a dark green tie that he kept readjusting every now and then, Pai also in black one but with a dark purple tie that almost looked black and a gray button-up shirt under his jacket. Ryou was wearing the same white one he'd worn to the party on his boat that he took the girls on, Keiichiro was wearing dark gray suit with a black tie, Tasuku was wearing a black suit that had a little black bowtie, and Tart was wearing black dress pants, an open black dinner coat, a white button-up shirt and a red sash around his waist, though he kept fidgeting with it every now and then.

It was about ten minutes before the limo was supposed to come that Ichigo had finally made it.

"Sorry I'm late," She said once in the doors, "I was having some trouble with my dad." She was wearing the light pink dress with the golden ribbons she'd gotten when they had gone shopping, and for shoes she was wearing gold colored flats that had light pink lace around the edges.

(A/N: I call them flats but if you go into any shoe store, they call them Mary Janes, but they aren't really. Original Mary Janes are way cooler. At least to me they are.)

Kish stood up as she walked over to him, "It's okay, you're still a little early." Just then the limo pulled up, "Or not." Ichigo giggled. They all headed out to the vehicle and climbed in.

"Cool!" Tart said, looking around, Kish smirked at him; this was the first time he, the midget, or Pai had ever been in a car before.

"Wow!" Purin was playing with the window switches.

"W-was a limo really necessary?" Retasu asked.

"Well, considering how many of us are being picked up," Keiichiro answered, "I think so."

It wasn't long until they arrived, the large mansion coming into view and all the people and decorations. Once they came to a stop, they each crawled out of the limo, walking up to the house and in through the front door.

Descending the wide staircase, her arm linked with her elder brother's, Minto walked down gracefully wearing a mint colored dress that had dark blue lace straps and dark blue lace edging the hem with dark blue lace gloves that reached her elbows, and dark blue high heels.

Once they reached the bottom of the steps, Ichigo spoke up. "Minto, you looked beautiful."

"Thank you," Minto said, "Everyone, this is my elder brother, Seigi."

(A/N: O.O…I completely forget how to spell her brother's name…is that right?)

"Hello." He said, giving a small bow, everyone greeted him back.

Minto spotted Kish, "Um…what's he doing here?" She glanced between Berry and Ichigo.

"I'm Ichigo's date." Kish stated, slipping his hand into hers. Ichigo blushed and nodded, smiling.

"Ichigo's date." Minto repeated as if to make sure she was hearing correctly.

Kish grinned, "Yup!"

Minto leaned closer to Berry, "He had better not do anything stupid or reckless."

"I'll…try to make sure of that." Berry whispered back, unsure of how she going to keep both Tasuku and Kish under control…she'd definitely need some help.

"So Minto," Ichigo said, "What exactly is your parents' party for?"

The blue haired girl pressed a hand to her chest, feigning innocence, "Parents' party? Did I say that?"

"Is it not theirs, na no da?" Purin asked.

Seigi smirked down at his sister, "You really didn't tell them?"

Minto smiled, "It's my birthday party."

"You're _what_?!" All the mews exclaimed.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Ichigo asked.

"Seriously," Berry said, "You little liar!" She was only joking, of course.

Minto giggled, "I didn't want you to make such a big fuss over it, and besides; my actual birthday isn't until October, and it's September. You can make up for it then."

"Then why have the party now?" Retasu asked.

"My-" Before Minto could continue, Seigi whispered something in her ear, she nodded and he walked off. "As I was saying, my parents are going out of town next week so they decided to have the party today, when they'd still be here."

"Oh, I get it!" Ichigo said, "That way they can celebrate your birthday with you!"

"But what's with all the formality?" Tasuku asked, "Or do you like all this?"

"Of course! I love the attention, you all know that!" Minto flashed a smile but to Ichigo, it looked much to forced to be real.

"Berry!" Ichigo spun and looked to the blond, "Want to go get something to drink with me and…Retasu?"

"Um, okay." Berry said.

"Wait, I didn't hear you ask me- whoa!" Ichigo grabbed the green haired girl's elbow and pulled her along with Berry following close behind as everyone else stared in confusion. At once, Purin and Zakuro glanced at each other before following after the other three mews.

"What's going on?" Retasu asked.

"Yes," Zakuro said once she and Purin had caught up, "What are you doing?"

"I don't think this is really what Minto wants." Ichigo said, "That smile, it seemed so…forced!"

"You really think so?" Berry asked.

Ichigo nodded, "So, I have an idea…"

* * *

Tart was aimlessly wandering around when suddenly he was yanked around the neck by Purin and being pulled towards the staircase. "Ack! Purin! What are doing?!"

"Purin needs to tell you something, na no da!" Purin stated, once they reached the large, wide steps; "Purin has a favor you need to do, na no da!"

At the same time, Berry was weaving her way between the people, looking for Tasuku and Kish, both of whom she found near the front door and looking rather bored.

"Have you seen Ichigo?" Kish asked as soon as he saw Berry.

"Yes," Berry answered, "But I need you two to do something."

"What's up?" Tasuku asked. Berry moved closer to her boyfriend and whispered into his ear, he nodded and repeated it to Kish, whispering into his ear just as Berry had with him. Kish looked confused but nodded anyway, agreeing to go along with him.

"So you'll do it?" Berry asked.

"Sure," Kish said, "But…why?"

Berry smiled, "It's a surprise! Tart should be going with you also, just so you know." Both Kish and Tasuku nodded.

* * *

Me: Okay, hope you liked it! I have something planned for the next chapter so it should be interesting! Again, I'd like at least two reveiws for the next update please!

Tasuku: Wasn't Minto supposed to hyperventalate when she saw Kish walk in the door and freak out because he's so reckless and noisy?

Me: Yeah, well...that didn't happen so...sorry.

Kish: What is Berry making us do?

Me: *grins* You'll just have to wait and see!

Kish: O.O Read and Review please!


	12. Confused

Me: Ta da- *caugh caugh* -.- ow...I hate being sick...anyway, I wrote this chapter kind of fast because, well, I had about all day to work on it and I wrote most of it last night so...yeah, and also because I'm working on like, four other one-shorts, all of which probably won't be finished for a little while...oh well. Oh, and I'm pretty sure I've decided to bring in Ringo, but I'm still not sure about Gato, I hope no one minds Ringo though!

Thanks for reading:  
**Megg  
FallingAngel27**

**Disclaimer: StrawberrKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew nor anything related to it**

* * *

Berry, Zakuro, Retasu, and Purin were standing outside on the front steps with Kish, Tasuku, and Tart.

"Why are we doing this again?" Tart asked.

"For Berry!" Tasuku declared.

"Nooo," Berry said, "For Minto."

"We're getting your stuff for Minto?" Kish asked, confused.

"Ichigo-san doesn't think Mito-san actually likes the big, fancy party." Retasu said, "So she wants to have a surprise slumber party for her tonight."

"So basically you're forcing Mint to let you stay the night?" Kish confirmed.

"Yes." Zakuro said.

"It's a surprise, na no da!" Purin exclaimed.

Berry lowered her voice, "Ichigo doesn't know you can teleport, because she doesn't remember," Kish sighed and nodded, "So take about as long as you can but still come back before the party is over, she thinks your walking to each house and they're about a few blocks apart."

"Aye aye!" Tasuku saluted her, grinning, and Kish and Tart both raised and eyebrow at him.

"Lets go," Kish grabbed Tasuku's shoulder and teleported, Tart following soon after.

"Um, I have a question." Retasu said, everyone looked at her, "Er…how are we going to explain to Ichigo that they got in to our homes without passing out parents?"

"Does Tasuku know how to pick a lock?" Zakuro asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Berry said, "That would be the only way to explain how he gets into my room every morning when I lock the window…"

"Then that is how." Zakuro said, "He picked the window locks."

"But that's a bit…" Retasu began, "Um, creepy."

"So…what exactly are we supposed to get?" Tasuku asked.

"Bedclothes," Kish answered, "And…their toothbrushes I think. But where'd Tart go? I thought he was right behind us."

"Berry said we were going to her house, Ichigo's house, and Zakuro's house," Tasuku said, "And Tart was going to Purin's and Retasu's."

"I see," Kish said, "So then, we're at Ichigo's house, right?" Kish looked around, if they were in Ichigo's room then it had definitely changed since the last time he was there.

"You're the one that teleported," Tasuku said, "You should know where we are!"

"…crap." Kish said.

"Wait, wait!" Tasuku held up a stuffed animal of a wolf pup, "Which mew would have a wolf plushy?"

"Zakuro!" Kish said.

"Ta da!" Tasuku said, "We now know where we are!"

Pai kept picking at the fabric of his beanie, why did he have to wear one? Because he couldn't go out around humans with his normal ears showing, so he has to wear a dreaded hat.

"Pai-san?" He heard Retasu's voice behind him and turned to see her, "Are you okay?"

"Ah," Pai cleared his throat, "Yes, I am fine."

Retasu looked skeptical, "Are you sure? You keep messing with your hat."

"It is…rather uncomfortable." Pai said.

"Oh." Retasu turned to the table next to them and poured herself some punch.

"Do you know where Kish and Tart ran off to?" Pai asked, "I haven't seen them and I fear they may be up to something."

"Oh, don't worry!" Retasu turned back to him, "We sent them to get a few things along with Tasuku-san, so they should be out a while."

Pai raised and eyebrow, "We?"

"Yes, Ichigo-san, Berry-san, Zakuro-san, Purin-chan, and myself," Retasu answered.

"I see." Pai said.

For the next two hours the mews mingled with various people, waiting for the guys to return. Ichigo, however, got a little tired of talking to so many people she didn't know and decided to retreat to Minto's bedroom, she guessed no one would be in there and found she was right. She walked out onto the balcony, leaving the double glass doors open, and breathed in the fresh night air. Staring down at a cluster of bushes near the front gate, she found something rather familiar about that spot, like she'd been right there before and something had-

"Ichigo?" She jumped, startled, at the sound of someone calling for her. She turned and saw who it was.

"Kish? When did you get back?" Ichigo asked.

"Just now. What are you doing up here all by yourself?" Kish asked.

Ichigo turned again to look back out over the balcony rail, "Just getting some air."

Kish walked up behind her and touched her elbow, "You're not cold?"

"Only a little, but-" Ichigo stopped short when Kish wrapped his arms around her from behind. She blushed a deep red but then, suddenly, her head felt foggy and an image flashed in her mind's eye.

_It was someone…the same person who had jumped off of the tall building…he had her from behind, "It's been a while, Ichigo! I missed you, honey!" She could see his a face a little more clearly this time…he looked like-_

"Oh…" Her knees buckled and she felt like she was going to faint, but Kish caught her steadied her.

"Whoa, you okay there?" Kish asked, sounding concerned.

"Um, y-yeah," Ichigo put a hand to her forehead and she stood up strait, "I'm fine."

"You sure?" Kish asked.

Ichigo nodded, "Yeah…uh, do you think you could get Berry for me?"

"Alright," Kish said, "But…are you _sure_ you're okay?"

Ichigo looked up at him, "I'm fine, Kish."

He still didn't believe her but nodded anyway and went to get Berry. Once he was out the door, Ichigo sighed and leaned against the rail, what was with that weird vision? And who was calling her "honey"? It was only a few minutes later when Berry walked in.

"Kish said you wanted to talk to me?" She said.

Ichigo walked back into the room, again leaving the glass doors open, "Yeah." Ichigo thought over how she was going to bring this up, Berry was once of her closest friends since she'd found out she had transferred to a private school and Moe and Miwa were still going to public.

"Ichigo, is something wrong?" Berry asked.

Ichigo decided on what to say, "Why did Ryou warn me about Kish? What's there to warn me _about_? There has to be a reason."

"I told you, Ichigo, he's just being over-" She stopped when Ichigo shook her head.

"No, I think there's something you're not telling me here," Ichigo said, "Something important."

Berry sighed, "_I guess it's time she knows…at least part of it._" She thought, but to Ichigo she said; "Ichigo…you and Kish…you used to know each other, before you lost your memory."

"What?" Ichigo said, "Berry, why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know!" Berry said, "I just- he didn't want you to know!"

"Why not?" Ichigo asked, "Why did it have to be such a secret?"

"Because…because it did!" Berry said.

"Well obviously there's a reason!" Ichigo insisted, "Why wouldn't he want me to know? What's the point in not telling me-"

"Because he's in love with you!" The words spilled out quick and loud, and Berry clapped both hands over her mouth right after speaking them, her eyes wide.

Ichigo blinked a few times, "He…he's what?"

The blond lowered her hands, a guilty look on her face, "That's why he didn't want you to know, he thought that maybe, if you didn't remember him, you wouldn't hate him so much and you'd be able to get to know him better."

"I…hated him?" Ichigo asked, her voice low and slightly shaky, "Why?"

"Well," Berry sighed, "He said he was always acting like an idiot around you, and it drove him nuts, he never knew what to say or how to act, so he just…"

"Acted like a jerk?" Both girls spun around to see Kish leaning in the door way.

"K-Kish…what are you…?" Ichigo trailed off, not quite sure what to say.

Kish pushed off from the doorframe and walking into the room, he shrugged, "You nearly fainted on the balcony, so I thought I'd make sure you really were okay and not just saying it."

"You almost fainted?" Berry asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine though." Ichigo said.

"Ichigo…" Kish mumbled, staring at her.

Ichigo looked at him, not sure what she should do. She had just found out that he was in love with her and she had so many questions. Where had he been? Why wasn't he around when she first woke up with missing memories? What else hadn't anyone told her?

"I…think I should go." That said Berry quickly made her way out the door, leaving Kish and Ichigo alone.

Kish just kept his eyes on Ichigo. "So, now you know."

"I-I guess so." Ichigo said, "But, where-" Before she could ask her question Kish walked up to her, cupping her face in her hands, and kissed her, putting as much passion and love into the single kiss as he could.

"I love you, Ichigo." He mumbled when he had finally pulled away. He stared into her eyes.

Ichigo was confused, she didn't know what to think or say or do, and the hard pounding of her heart was flooding her ears. For the second time that night, Kish wrapped his arms around her. Slowly, Ichigo hugged him back, burying her face in his shoulder.

Suddenly she remembered what she had originally wanted to talk to Berry about, but…what if she told Kish instead? Would he think her crazy, or would he believe her?

Ichigo pulled away, "Kish?"

He looked at her, "Yeah?"

"Um…t-there's something I want to tell you…" She tried to think of how to go about it, "Well, I've been…seeing things, not like, schizophrenic or anything but…they feel likes dreams."

Kish smirked, "Dreams are completely normal, Ichigo."

Ichigo shook her head, "No, they're…different, like memories but it feels like I'm dreaming."

Kish raised an eyebrow, "Feels like you're dreaming but they're like memories."

"It doesn't really make any sense, I know, but…" Ichigo paused for a moment, "But I think they're things that happened…I don't know if it was actually to me, or to someone else, but I think they actually did happen."

Curious, Kish said; "Tell me, what happens in these…visions?" Ichigo was about tell him, when she was interrupted by a scream from outside.

* * *

Me: Well, that was the new chapter...so yeah, hope you liked it!

Kish: :D I got to kiss Ichigo!

Me: Yeah, you did.

Kish: :D

Me: Anyway, thanks for reading and please reveiw!!!


	13. Birds in the Sky

Me: :D I bring you new chapter! Hehe, I won't kill everyone by making this to long because I made the last chapter a cliffy and I know how I hate those things, but at the same time I love 'em! Ahem, on with the chapter!

Thanks for reading:  
**Mrs. Cullen26**  
**Meg-buix  
-Kira Sohma-With Mimi An Max-**

**Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew nor anything related to it!**

* * *

"_It doesn't really make any sense, I know, but…" Ichigo paused for a moment, "But I think they're things that happened…I don't know if it was actually to me, or to someone else, but I think they actually did happen."_

_Curious, Kish said; "Tell me, what happens in these…visions?" Ichigo was about tell him, when she was interrupted by a scream from outside._

{Now…}

Ichigo looked over her shoulder and ran for the balcony to see what had happened, Kish trying to grab her first but not being quick enough as he called out, "Ichigo!"

She burst through the double glass doors, the skirt of her dress and her hair flying out ahead of her dramatically when she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of a twelve foot tall dog, and a man and a woman running inside the house below her.

Kish ran up behind her, grabbing her elbows, and attempted to bring her back inside, but she kept shaking him off, grabbing the cement rail of the balcony as she stared at the large, mutated creature in amazement.

"What is that…?" She asked breathily.

"I have no idea," Kish answered, though he knew full well that it was a Chimera Anima, but all he wanted was to get Ichigo back indoors where it would be safer. "But get away from the balcony, it dangerous!"

Ichigo squinted her eyes at it, finding it familiar, like the rose bushes had been the first time Kish had hugged her that night, "Its Miki!" She exclaimed!"

"Who?" Kish asked.

"Minto's dog!" Ichigo answered, "Miki!" With that, she pressed a hand onto the railing, leaping over it and, to her disbelief, landed perfectly and gracefully on her feet. Kish, however, was freaking, he had tried to grab her but she had been too quick.

"Ichigo!" He yelled down, "What the hell are you doing?!" In the distance he could hear the mews transforming, one by one.

"MEW MEW BERRY! METAMORPHOSIS!"

"MEW MEW MINT! METAMORPHOSIS!"

"MEW MEW LETTUCE! METAMORPHOSIS!"

"MEW MEW PUDDING! METAMORPHOSIS!"

"MEW MEW ZAKURO! METAMORPHOSIS!"

Rather than answering Kish, Ichigo ran towards the Chimera Anima, sliding to a stop in front of it with her arms stretched out at her sides. "DON'T!" She screamed just before the blue mew could fire off her arrow, when Ichigo looked up she saw that the girl looked surprised, almost alarmed, by her suddenly being there. Or was it because of something else?

"Please," Ichigo begged, "This is my friend's dog! You can't hurt him!"

Minto lowered her arrow, still keeping it ready to fire, and stared at Ichigo with a shocked expression, but just when the tip of the arrow was pointing towards the ground, the mutated dog raised its paw to swipe Ichigo out of its way.

Immediately, Minto raised her bow again as fast as she could, screaming, "RIBBON…MINT ECHO!" And just as her arrow flew out, a streak of black rammed into Ichigo and flew into a tree with her. When Ichigo blinked her eyes open, she was rather surprised.

"Kish?" He didn't answer; he wasn't even looking at her, instead glaring at the ground and looking quite pissed off.

"RIBBON…ZAKURO SPEAR!" Ichigo watched as the purple mew wrapped her whip around the dog's two front paws, giving it a solid jerk and sending it crashing to the ground.

"RIBBON…PUDDING RINGO INFERNO!" The little yellow one coated it in a jelly like substance and then the white mew went in for the final blow.

"RIBBON…LOVEBERRY CHECK!" A white blast shot out of her staff like weapon and the Chimera Anima was destroyed, the alien parasite leaving it and setting Miki, the dog, free.

Ichigo wriggled and Kish let her go, staying in the tree rather than following her, as she ran to the dog, kneeling in the grass and scooping the little white animal up in her arms, snuggling him.

"Minto will be glad you're safe." She said to him.

Minto, standing only a few feet from Ichigo, wanted to tell that she was stand _right there_ and that yes, she was_ very_glad her dog was safe, but she couldn't, because Ichigo didn't remember and Ryou had said to leave her as she was, her memory candy-coated with sugar on top.

Kish slid out of the tree with ease, walking up to Ichigo. Once he was behind her she jumped up, spinning around, with Miki still in her arms. She smiled at him, but when she saw how cold and angry he looked, she frowned, "Kish…?"

He grabbed her by the shoulders, "What were you thinking?!" He yelled, "You could've gotten seriously hurt, you know that?!" Ichigo looked shocked and slightly frightened, he hadn't meant to scare her, but she had definitely scared him when she jumped off the balcony.

"I-I'm sorry…" She whimpered, holding the dog closer to her. Kish sighed and was about to wrap her in his arms and tell her how worried he had been when a loud, high-pitched, metallic screech came from above them, the mews, including Ichigo, and Kish looked up and saw several over-sized crows flying overhead, each of them having to be at least six feet tall and four feet wide, looking like large, black blobs in the night sky.

"Get inside! Now!" Zakuro sent her order to Kish, knowing he'd make sure Ichigo got to safety as well.

And he did, swinging an arm over her shoulders, running towards the house, and in through the French backdoors.

"RIBBON…LETTUCE RUSH!" Retasu was the first to fire off an attack.

"Fuu Rai Sen!" A bolt of lightening struck a bird just as the water from Retasu's attack did, electrocuting it. It swerved in the sky, almost crashing but catching an air current and swooping back into the sky, higher up than before. Pai landed right next to Retasu and Tart next to Purin, both in their alien clothes and ready to fight.

"Pai-san?" Retasu said, looking up at him.

He looked down at her, giving a rare smile, "We couldn't let you fight these things alone."

"Yeah!" Tart exclaimed, punching the air.

"Tar-Tar!" Purin looped her arms around his neck, squeezing him into a tight hug.

"Ack! Get off!" He began to attempt shoving the girl off, but to no avail, she just kept hanging on him. They all froze, however, at the shrill cry of one of the over-sized crows, sounding out that it was going in for an attack.

It dove, beak first, towards the ground at full speed. Just as it was about to crash into the earth, Pai slipped an arm around Retasu's waist and grabbed Zakuro's elbow, teleporting them out of the way, while Tart teleported with Purin, Berry hopped back and out of the way, and Minto flew.

"RIBBON…ZAKURO SPEAR!" Zakuro attempted to wrap the bird's beak in her whip but it dove out of the way, charging right for Minto.

"RIBBON…MINT ECHO!" A blue blast hit the bird right in the face, causing it to make a sharp turn and fly back up to its fellow crows.

Another crow, this one seeming to be the largest of the group, took a nosedive strait for Purin and Tart. Pai caught on to their attack plan instantly; dive for one at a time or the smallest.

"Ku Rai Sen!" He used his fans to send a bolt of lightning at it, but instead it bounced off of Tart's click-clacks that he'd thrown, countering and striking a tree instead.

"Taruto!" Pai yelled to the boy who shrank back sheepishly. Luckily, it did stop the bird.

"Oops." He muttered.

"RIBBON…LOVEBERRY CHECK!" Berry shot off an attack, sending a beam of white towards the creature which seemed to be standing still. Even weirder, the Anima didn't even try to dodge her attack, it seemed…distracted by something. Pricking her ears up, she listened as hard as she could…

"Pai, I think-"

"Quiet!" Berry ordered, cutting Tart off. She kept listening, and the birds didn't move…finally, she picked something up, a small, quiet cooing sound, almost like that of an owl, was coming from somewhere in the distance, which meant whoever was controlling them was nearby.

In an instant, the bird, which had been idle until now, opened its beak and a black orb formed, growing bigger and bigger until it shot out and raced for Minto. The blue mew flew strait up, twisting and turning herself so she was flying upside-down above the bird and shot off her bow with a shrill cry. "RIBBON…MINT ECHO!"

Half an hour later…

Kish was sitting on the foot of a bed in one of the mansions spare rooms with Miki in his lap, Tasuku sprawled out on the pillows behind him, and Ichigo pacing the floor. Keiichiro and Ryou were keeping an eye on the guests downstairs.

"Where are they?" Ichigo fretted, "Where's Minto, and Berry, and Retasu? Where's Zakuro and Purin?"

"They are…!" Tasuku began dramatically but trailed off, trying to think of something to tell the girl.

Kish rolled his eyes and said; "They're helping Ryou and Keiichiro keep the guests calm, they should be up soon enough."

Ichigo stopped, swirling around to face him, worry clear in her eyes, but once she looked at Kish she seemed to relax, sighing and sitting down on the bed next to him. She began to stroke Miki's soft fur as she stared at the dresser across the room, a blank look on her face. Her head jolted up at the sound of a knock outside the door.

"Can we come in?" It was Minto, she cracked the door open, "Or are you two doing something a little to private?"

"Minto!" Ichigo squeaked, blushing.

Kish snickered, "Come in.

"Hello!" Tasuku said, smiling up at them, though it was upside down since he had his head hanging off the edge of the bed. All five mews walked in; now back in their formal clothes along with Pai and Tart and all cleaned up.

Ichigo stood up quickly and rushed to Minto, Zakuro, Retasu, and Purin, "How is everything?"

"Fine, now." Zakuro answered.

Berry walked over to Tasuku, kneeling down and pecking him on the lips. "How are all the freaking-out people?" Tasuku asked.

"Better than they were," Minto said, sounding irritated and bored by them, "Especially now that those over-sized birds and Tokyo Mew Mew are gone." She recalled back to the fight, remembering how long it had taken them just to fend off and destroy a single Chimera Anima. She sighed, "But, thankfully, the guests are being sent home now." Ichigo glanced at the girls and they all smiled. Minto narrowed her eyes, "What…?" They all looked at her, still smiling, and she caught on. "Oh no! No, no, no, no!"

Minto sighed, sitting on a mound of pillows, Miki in her lap, with the rest of the girls, "How did I let you talk me into this?" The girls were now in their frilly, satin pajamas, each wearing their favorite color, only a few minutes after they had sent to guys home.

Ichigo grinned, "You didn't."

"You were forced into this." Berry sighed melodically.

"We thought you might like this better than the fancy party," Retasu said, smiling up at Minto as she flipped the page of a fashion magazine.

"Yes." Zakuro agreed, brushing her hair, "Much better."

Minto smiled just as Purin jumped into the air, shouting "Woohoo!" and landing right in the center of the pillows and cushions, sending most of them flying. Everyone giggled, even Minto after a minute.

Outside, perched in a tree, a figure let out a low growl, "Damn," it hissed, eyes narrowed with anger, just before teleporting away, cool night air being all that filled the space of where it once was.

* * *

Me: Dun dun duuuun! XD And I leave you to guess who that dude...person..._thing_was up in da tree! Ringo will probably -mostly more than likely- come in durring the next chapter, if no one minds her being in it, 'cause I'd rather not ruin it for anyone! But, to me, she's sooo adorable, so I want to add her!

Kish: You could've nearly killed Ichigo!

Me: But I did't, so be happy. Besides, I like Ichigo, I wouldn't do that to her...no matter the hell of other crap I put the poor girl through...

Tasuku: XD Read and Review please!!!

Kish: Be nice to my kitty!


	14. Uniforms Are Not Harmless

Me: Okay...so this was rewritten about five times before I finally wrote something that I liked and thought everyone else would enjoy as well! Though, I know I said Ringo was going to be in it but I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to bring her into the story, plus I've never played the game so...it wouldn't really work anyway, since she'd have to remember stuff from that, too, so it looks like she won't be in it after all! Hehe, oh well...and also, I realized that there's not that much humor in it, at least not that I've noticed, so I might be chaning the genre-thingy at some point, though to what I havn't the slightest clue.

Thanks for reading:  
**FallingAngel27  
Meg-buix  
Mrs. Cullen26 **(Ringo is in the PS2 game, not A La Mode, but I hardly know much about her, so don't feel bad!)  
**CKS**

**Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew nor anything related to it.**

* * *

"_Aoyoma-kun!" A slimy, green germ-like substance coated and held a boy inside the classroom, "Aoyoma-kun!" "Momomiya-san, run!"_

"No!" Ichigo exclaimed, jumping awake at her school desk.

The teacher turned to face her, "And just why shouldn't we discuss the earth's atmosphere, Miss Momomiya?"

Ichigo sank into her seat, "Sorry, Ayumi-sensei…" Berry and Minto raised an eyebrow at each other over Ichigo's head, both wondering what that had been about, just as Ichigo herself was.

After school, once Ichigo had stepped out of the front doors, she stretched her arms up over her head, smiling as she enjoyed the sun on her face. But that stupid dream was still on her mind and she couldn't seem to shake it off…

"You like that, huh, Kitten?" She gasped, surprised, when she saw Kish sitting on the wide, cement railing of the front steps, wearing jeans and a hooded long-sleeved black shirt rather than a school uniform.

"Kish!" She said. Just the sight of him made her blush; she still hadn't forgotten his confession from the night before.

He smiled, "Miss me?" Ichigo stayed silent, smiling a little. "Is that a yes, then?"

Instead of answering, she smirked and ran down the steps, Kish taking this as his cue to chase after her; all Ichigo's thoughts of her dream were blown away when he did. They weaved through the large crowd of girls, most of them giving Kish weird looks and wondering why a boy was on campus.

He chased her, both laughing, all the way off the school grounds and to the other side of the soccer field. Once he was close enough, he teleported directly behind her, shouting "Got 'ya!" as he tackled her to the ground.

"Kiiiiish!" Ichigo whined, though giggling, "Get off me!"

"But I like being on top of you!" Kish laughed.

"Kish!" Ichigo squeaked quite loudly, blushing madly. Again, Kish laughed, rolling off of her.

"Ah, you're so funny, Konecko-chan!" He said, grinning up at the sky with his hands pillowing his head.

Ichigo crossed her arms under her chin and gave him a questioning look. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

Kish looked over at her, "Calling you what?"

"Kitten." Ichigo answered.

Kish shrugged, "'Cause you're my kitten?"

Ichigo blushed, "There has to be a real reason."

"That is the real reason." Kish said.

Ichigo inched closer to him with her elbows, "What were we like before?" She asked quietly, "Before I forgot, what were we like?"

Kish lost his smirk, surprised by the sudden question and not quite sure how to answer it, "What do you mean?"

"What were we like with each other?" Ichigo asked, "Were we likes this, or was it different?"

Kish opened his mouth to answer, but thought better of it and instead sat up, "You never told me about those dream-vision-memory things you've been having."

Ichigo crawled onto her knees, "You're changing the subject." She stated fatly.

Kish twisted around to look at her, studying her expectant face and wondering if maybe, just maybe, now was the time to tell her. But before he could make any decisions, she snagged his beanie and made off with it, giggling.

"I won't give your hat back until you tell me!" She shouted as she ran away.

Kish sat there, frozen, what was he going to do about his ears? He scrambled to his feet, glancing at a wristwatch that wasn't there, "I-I have to go!" He shouted to her, "I'll tell you later!" With that he took off running, leaving behind a confused Ichigo standing a few several feet away from where he had been.

She looked down at the black hat, "_Did I say something wrong?_" She wondered.

* * *

Panting, Kish slid down the back wall of Ichigo's school. "That was close…" He whispered.

"What was, na no da?" He heard the girlish voice of Purin ask.

He looked at her, "Purin? What are you doing back here?"

She held up a yellow hula-hoop, grinning, "Practice!"

"Oh…" Kish sighed, now regaining his breath. Why hadn't he just teleported instead of running? Honestly, the girl really did make him crazy.

Purin walked over and squatted down next to Kish, "What was close, na no da?"

Kish looked down at the cement beneath him, "Ichigo almost saw my ears."

"Is that a bad thing, na no da?" Purin asked.

"Yes." Kish answered flatly.

"Why is it bad if Ichigo-oneechan sees Kish-oniichan's ears, na no da?" Purin asked, moving to sit cross-legged.

"Because if Ichigo-oneechan sees Kish-oniichan's ears," Kish began, "Then her memory will come back to fast."

Purin was confused, "And why is that bad, na no da? I thought Kish-oniichan wanted Ichigo-oneechan's memory to come back."

Kish narrowed his eyes, "I do. But if it happens to fast, it could hurt her."

"Oh, oh!" Purin clapped her hands together and Kish looked up at her, "Purin has an idea, na no da! What if you got Ichigo-oneechan to put on her old café uniform, na no da?"

"Maybe…" Kish said, thinking it over. Hadn't Tasuku mentioned that once?

"Purin-chan!" Retasu's voice rang over the backyard of the school.

"Purin, where the heck did you go?!" Then Minto.

"Gotta go!" Purin said to Kish, then swiftly shot up and ran to her friends, yelling, "Purin is here, na no da!" Her hula-hoop rattling as she ran.

Kish stared up at the sky now, thinking about Ichigo. He had just left her over in the soccer field, and he felt kind of bad about it, heck, he wouldn't be surprised if she was mad at him right now, he would be to if someone just ran away from him like that.

"Kish! Let's go!" He heard Tasuku calling for him.

Kish made an annoyed face, "I can't!"

He saw the black haired boy poke his head around the side of the building, "Why not?" He asked loudly so Kish could hear him.

"Ichigo has my hat!" Kish answered.

Tasuku dropped to the floor, "And why does she have your hat?" He asked after he'd gotten back up and jogged over to him.

"'Cause she took it." Kish answered. "She asked me what we were like with each other before she forgot stuff and when I tried to change the subject, she took my hat."

Tasuku just stood there for a moment before saying; "You know your shirt has a hood right?"

Kish went blank faced, "Oh…yeah."

Tasuku looked around, "Where is Ichigo anyway?"

"Back on the-" Kish stopped, remembering he'd left her on the soccer field, that much he'd realized as soon as he left but…he left her _all alone_. He looked up at Tasuku, "the soccer field. Alone."

* * *

Ichigo had walked to the park alone, fiddling with Kish's hat in her hands. She was now sitting on the bench and it looked as thought it were going to rain. She sighed, "_Makes sense,_" She thought, "_Its autumn now, and winter should be coming up soon._"

As though she had summoned just by merely thinking about it, the sky began to rain ever so lightly.

She sneezed and wiped her nose, not moving. Why was she still sitting there? She didn't know, it wasn't like she had much else to do; school was out now, she had the day off from work.

She squeaked, surprised, when two arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her, "Ichigo," She heard Kish's voice say in her ear. "Everyone was looking for you."

She turned her head and saw him, "Kish…?" He was now wearing his hood up.

He pulled away slightly so he could look at her, "What are you doing out here? All by yourself and in the rain no less, you'll catch a cold!"

"Er…I thought you were mad at me…" Ichigo said.

Kish looked surprised by this, "Mad at you? For what?"

"Well, you ran away back at school," Ichigo said, "After I asked you what we were like before."

After a moment of silence, Kish giggled, "No, Kitten, I'm not and I wasn't mad at you."

"Then why'd you run away?" Ichigo asked.

"I-…" Kish stopped and sighed, "Look, it's a long story, how we were, alright? How about I make it up to you after work at the café is done?"

Ichigo blushed and smiled, "You mean like a date?"

Kish grinned, "Yeah, a date!"

Ichigo giggled, "Alright!"

* * *

Ichigo sighed, bored, as she drummed her fingertips on the top of the café table she was sitting at, Kish had asked her to come by that day and she did, ending up staying for the whole work day. Now, after everyone else had left, it was just her and him, Kish having cleanup duty that day, she had to wait for him to finish up.

Said green haired male walked out of the kitchen, smiling while he dried his hands with a dishrag, "Done!" He announced, "Sorry it took so long."

Ichigo shook her head, smiling a little sleepily at him, "It's fine," She stretched her arms out in front of her and let out a small, cute yawn that was rather cat-like with the way she curled her hands inwards. Kish smirked at this, thinking it was just adorable.

A thought crossed her mind, something she'd never thought to ask anyone else that worked there before, "Hey, Kish?"

"Hm?" He answered, "What's up?"

"What did my uniform look like?" Ichigo asked and Kish looked rather surprised by this question, "I mean, everyone's is the same but in a different color, so mine must have been the same way, right?"

"Uh, I guess," Kish said, "Why do you ask?"

Ichigo blushed, a little embarrassed by her request, "Well, I was just kinda wondering, maybe I could see it?"

Kish smirked, so that's what she wanted. "Sure, you could even put it on if you want to." To himself, he thought; "_This might even help with your memory._" Remembering that both Purin and Tasuku had suggested it, Kish figured he might as well try it. What harm could it do? It was just a waitressing uniform.

"Really?" Ichigo's eyes lit up, "Where is it?"

Kish thought for a minute, trying to remember where Keiichiro had said they keep the uniforms, "In the back!" He said, remembering exactly where now, "It's the closet next to the girl's dressing room, I'll show you."

Standing up, Ichigo followed Kish to the back hallways, where the girl's dressing room was. Once they got to it, Kish momentarily forgetting which side of the hall it was on; next to the dressing room or across from it? There were too many closets in this place, in his opinion. Ichigo waited a few steps behind him as he searched through the uniforms, a spare for each of the mews, plus one for Tasuku and him, and there were also other colored ones in there, though what they were for he couldn't guess.

"Ah ha!" He said once he had located the hot pink waitress uniform with the lighter pink accents which he now realized was Berry's only with the colors reversed, or Ichigo's with the colors reversed on Berry's, seeing as she was there first. "Here you go," Kish said, pulling it out and handing it to her.

Ichigo took it, holding it delicately, "Oh my God!" She breathed, "It's so _cute_! I really wore this?" Kish nodded, smiling at her, though he was in to much shock at what had happened to really even realize when it _had_ happened. Suddenly, Ichigo had her arms tightly around his torso, squeezing him into a hug, the dress still clenched in his hands behind his back. Slowly, though not at all hesitant, Kish hugged back.

When Ichigo let go, much too soon in Kish's mind, she headed strait for the dressing room. Kish sighed, whishing the hug had lasted longer, as he leaned against the wall, pressing his back into it as he waited for Ichigo to come back out.

Ichigo slid the dress over her head, tying the apron on afterwards and adjusting it to fit comfortably. She walked over to the full-length mirror that was placed on the wall, next to the painted-white locker, and examined herself, twisting this way and that so she could see it from every angle. Suddenly, though, as she was twisting herself back into a trait position, she felt dizzy, like she'd been knocked in the head enough to make her pass out but it didn't hurt, though she collapsed to the floor, on her knees.

_She's running all over the place…busy, busy, busy…"I'd like a glass of water, please!" "Where's my order?" "Can I have a brownie?"_

Kish jumped, startled, when he heard what sounded like a body falling to the floor, a sound he knew rather well which disturbed his greatly, a shiver running up his spine as he remembered back when there had been many sick people on his planet, but they were better now, either having passed on or gotten cured. Shaking those memories off, however, he felt worry flow through him when he saw no sign of Ichigo after at least two minutes, so he knocked on the door…no reply.

"Ichigo?" He called, "You still in there?" Though he knew she was, there was no way out of that room besides the only door, which she would have had to exit and thus passing him on the way. Knocked again and still got no answer, "Ichigo!"

His only reply was a low, muffled moan from the other side of the door. Now fully worried he jerked the door open with much more force than actually needed, but he didn't care, when he saw Ichigo she was on the far side on the room, sitting on her knees with one hand pressed to the floor and the other holding her head.

"Ichigo!" Kish rushed to her and knelt down next to her, "Are you okay?"

Ichigo mumbled something inaudible; shaking her head way to slow to be even close to normal, Kish could barley even tell she had moved at all.

"Konecko-chan, what's wrong? Tell me!" He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into his lap so she could be in more of a lying down position instead of having to support herself, which seemed to help at least a little bit as the girl dropped her hand from her forehead and buried her face in his knees.

"_One strawberry parfait coming right up!" "Ichigo, table three needs you." "Will you ever help out around here?" "I do, every day, I taste the teas, Café Mew Mew has to have the very best, you know." "I'll help!" "Berry, come have some tea with me!" "Purin can do tricks, na no da!" "Waaa!" "Retasu, watch out!" "Purin broke another dish!" "Zakuro-san is a little, um…scarier in person than she is at her photo shoots and on TV." "A diet coke and some chocolate chip cookies, please." "Cherry pie, please." "A blueberry tea with a slice of apple pie, please." "Ichigo! You're late! Again!"_

To many…there were to many images rushing through Ichigo's head, each one with its own noises and voices, some with the sound of crashing plates, some with the sound of noisy chatter, others with the sound of water rushing, it was all to much for Ichigo's mind to handle at once.

* * *

Me: And yet again, I leave you with a cliffy! ;) I'm horible, I know. But you won't be finding out who the dude in the tree was any time soon because, to be honest, I don't even know who it is yet and I'm the one writing this damn thing!

Kish: What the hell'd you do to Ichigo?!

Me: Relax, relax, I wouldn't take her away from you, you know this.

Kish: O.O If you kill her, so help me...!

Me: Yeah, yeah. Read and Review please!


	15. Dreaming the Past

Me: Ta da! A fast update, yay! Now, I wrote this at like, midnight, so please forgive any mistakes and whatnot, though I think it came out decent enough. Oh, and this has absolutely nothing to do with anything, but has anyone else seen the music video for _Looking Glass_ by _The Birthday Massacre_? The school uniforms in it are almost the exact same as the ones in A La Mode! Save for they have a bow instead of a tie, and no hats...and Chibi's hair is like Minto's!...so, anyway, on to something actually somewhat important, the new chapter!

Thanks for reading:  
**Meg-buix **(you know, you're probably right, it was bad enough when he found out I made Ichigo forget him XD)  
**FallingAngel27  
Lilyflower-314**

**Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew nor anything related to it.**

* * *

"You know this is your fault, right?"

"I didn't know…"

"It's still your fault; this is _exactly_ what I was afraid of!"

"It was a damned uniform! I didn't think this would happen!"

"Please don't argue." Retasu interjected, just now walking into the room with a silver tray holding a small bowl of water and a washrag.

Ryou sighed, "He should've just let her be."

Kish glared at him, "I'm not giving up."

Ryou gave him a sarcastic look, "On what? Torturing her?"

Kish gritted his teeth and growled; "On giving back what should've been given to her when she lost it."

"So she's insane now?" Ryou said, still not taking him seriously.

"Her memory!" Kish all but yelled, "Her damn memory, Blondie! And if you actually gave a shit she'd have it back by now!"

"_Oh dear,_" Retasu thought, "_He's already started with the foul language._"

Now Ryou was glaring right back at him, "I care more about her than _you_ do, obviously, because if you'd of just stayed on your own planet she wouldn't be lying in a _medical bed_ right now!"

Kish pressed his teeth together harder, glaring at Ryou with as much intensity as he could possibly muster up, after a moment of silence he sighed, "I know it was stupid, and if I had known this would happen then I wouldn't have done it. But right now, all I care about is making sure she wakes up."

Ryou, not quite knowing how to respond to this, crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. Retasu sighed, shaking her head, and set the tray on the small table next to the bed Ichigo, who had past out by the time Keiichiro had found her and Kish, was lying on. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she dipped the washrag in the cool water and began to dab it on Ichigo's forehead in hopes that it would help the girl recover a bit.

Ryou left the room to see how the rest of the mews were, they had gotten there only about ten minutes ago, but Kish stayed, not having left Ichigo's side since he went into the changing room and found her on the floor.

"I'm sure she'll be okay," Retasu's voice broke into his thoughts, "She always pulls through."

Kish gave a weak smirk, "Yeah, I hope so."

She studied him for a moment, "Don't listen to Ryou-san, he's just worried about her."

"But he's right," Kish said, "If I hadn't let her try it on, this wouldn't have happened."

"_Let_ her?" Retasu asked.

"She asked me if she could see her uniform, I told her she could," Kish began, "And I said she could put it on if she wanted. She did and then…this happened."

"Hmm…" Retasu looked to the ground for a minute before replacing the washrag on the tray and standing, leaving the room.

After she left, Kish went and sat on the edge of the bed where Retasu had been and tucked a piece of Ichigo's pink hair that had been hanging in face behind her ear, "Ichigo…" He mumbled.

Outside the room, down the stairs, and in the front room, the rest of the mews were waiting alone with Keiichiro, Pai, and Tart, Ryou had just gone down and told them the latest updates. She still wasn't awake, and it didn't look like she would be any time soon.

"That stupid, stupid, _stupid_ alien!" Minto grumbled, glaring into her teacup. "He should've known better, should've thought it through-"

"No matter the case," Keiichiro interrupted her, "Kish didn't know this would happen and you know as well as I that if _had_ known, he wouldn't have let her put it on."

Minto stayed silent for a moment before looking away and mumbling, "He's still stupid."

"It's…kind of my fault." Tasuku said.

Everyone looked at him. "How?" Berry asked.

"I told him maybe it'd help with her memory," Tasuku said, "And he listened to me."

"Purin suggested it to, na no da." Purin said, staring at her hands folded neatly in her lap.

"Look, Purin, Tasuku, it's not your fault," Ryou said.

"We're the ones that told him to!" Tasuku said, "We're every bit as responsible for this as he is!"

"No, you're not," Ryou said.

"Just because you have some grudge against him doesn't mean you can just blame this all on him!" Tart exclaimed.

"I agree," Pai said. "Though it may be that Kish was the one to let her put the uniform on, Tasuku and Purin did suggest it first."

"I agree with Ryou, though," Minto said, "Kish is the one who let her do it, Tasuku and Purin weren't even here."

"Think what you want," Pai said, "But that does not make it logical."

* * *

He was still sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. He wasn't going to leave, no matter what; he was going to stay with her until he was absolutely, completely positive that she was okay.

Every now and again, Kish would reach over and stroke her cheek, finding some comfort in the baby-soft smoothness of her skin. He gave a weak smirk, maybe this would be like a fairytale and all it would take to wake her up was a simple kiss?

"_Well, it's worth a shot,_" He thought to himself, "_I mean, if a uniform could put her under this spell, then why can't a kiss break it?_"

He leaned in, once again stroking her cheek with the back of his hand, and kissed her. After a moment he pulled away, but Ichigo didn't even stir, merely lying there, motionless save her chest moving up and down with every breath.

"Life isn't a fairytale," Kish's head snapped in the direction of the new voice, "I kiss can't break the spell."

Kish sighed, "Pai, you finally decided to come see her, huh?"

"Yes, though mainly I came to see how you were doing," Pai said, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, "You haven't left her side once."

"Did you really think I would?" Kish asked, though he knew Pai knew the answer.

"Kish," Pai said, "Despite what Ryou may think, this is not-"

"That's not why I'm staying with her," Kish interrupted, "It is one of the reasons, but it's not ­_the_ reason."

"Then why won't you leave her?" Pai asked.

"I've already lost her once," Kish said, "I won't lose her again."

Pai cast his gaze out the window, which was open in hopes that the airflow would help, but it didn't seem to be doing much. Nothing seemed to be doing much. The mew team had tried everything; scent salts, pouring cold water on her face, shaking her, yelling at her, screaming at her, Purin even banged on her gong several times, but nothing would wake the girl up. It made Pai wonder, really, what was keeping her in such a deep sleep.

* * *

_She sat on the grass, in front of a sakura tree, staring up at the sky. She had been wearing that Café Mew Mew uniform before, so why was she barefoot and wearing only a white sundress now? Her hair was still up in pigtails though._

_There was something familiar about this place…like she had been there before, but…when?_

"_A long time ago." Her head snapped in the direction the voice came from, right next to her, but no one was there._

"_Psst!" Then she looked to the other direction._

"_Ah!" She jumped to her feet, startled, to see…whoever it was, right next to her face. He was smirking as he stood up strait._

"_What? Don't you like me anymore?" He asked teasingly._

"_What…I don't even know you are!" Ichigo said._

"_Oh, but you do." He said, his forefinger near his lips as he winked at her. "You knew me a long time ago and now, finally, you know me once again."_

_Ichigo stared at him, long and hard, trying for the life of her to remember where she had seen him. He looked somewhat like…Kish, actually, only his skin was a tiny bit paler, his clothes were weird, and his ears…they were elf-like, long and pointed. But everything else; the body shape, the hair, it was all the same._

"_Who…who are you?" Ichigo asked._

_He grinned and in one instant he was gone, but in the next he was right in front of her. He kissed her hard on the lips, and when he pulled back he said; "The name's Kish," He licked his lips, "Thanks for the kiss."_

* * *

Ichigo shot up in her bed, screaming, stopping after a moment.

"Ichigo!" Kish gasped and was imidiatly back to sitting on the bed, "What is it? What's wrong?" He asked frantically.

Ichigo looked at him and jumped off the bed as though he were a stranger, backing away from him and accidently bumping into Pai, when she looked up at him, she seemed to relax somewhat, feeling slightly relieved that she wasn't alone with Kish.

"I-Ichigo…" Kish said, standing, "Why did you-" But before Kish could finish, the door burst open and in came Ryou, followed by Keiichiro. Everyone else must have been told to stay where they were.

"What happened?" Keiichiro asked.

Ryou immidiatly noticed Ichigo up and out of bed, "Ichigo! Are you okay?" She nodded, though stayed silent. Ryou turned to Kish, looking angry, "What did you do?!"

"Nothing!" Kish said, "She woke up screaming! And then…" He trailed off, still not sure why she had bolted at the mere sight of him.

"And then?" Keiichiro asked, encouraging him to go on.

Kish shrugged, "She jumped out of the bed like I was a hell hound out to get her."

Ichigo stayed close to Pai, though her curiosity was defiantly going to win over all else. "What haven't you told me?" She demanded. "Where when I forgot everything? What did he have elf ears? And why was he wearing weird clothes? What did that sakura tree mean? Why was Kish there with me? Why did I faint when I put on my old uniform? And what…" She trailed off, pausing her firing questions for a moment before continuing, "And what was all that?"

The four guys just stared at her for a moment, not quiet sure what to say. Ryou cleared his throat, being the first to speak up, "What exactly did you see, Ichigo?"

"I saw…" She thought for a minute, "Well, at first it was me working…here. Then, I was in front of this sakura tree, and…Kish, he was with me but, his ears and clothes were weird. Then, I woke up."

"And that is everything?" Pai asked.

Ichigo nodded slowly, "Yeah, though, the memories of me working…there were so many, I felt like my head was going to crack open and spill them out if they didn't stop."

"Ichigo," Kish said, she looked up at him, "I still don't get it…why did you run away from me when you woke up?"

Ichigo opened her mouth to answer, but she failed to speak. Once could, however, her answer wasn't what they were hoping for. "I don't know."

"You don't know." Ryou said.

"I don't know." Ichigo confirmed, "I just…him and that guy in the dream-"

"Dream, or memory?" Pai asked, interrupting her.

"Er…dream," Ichigo said, "It was a dream, and they looked so much alike, he even said his name was Kish…" She smirked, shaking her head like a cat with a tickle in it's ear, "Never mind, it was just a stupid dream!"

Keiichiro, Pai, Ryou, and Kish each glanced at each other, all four thinking it best to let her think that rather than tell her the truth, it would be to much for her worn-out mind.

However, Keiichiro decided to prod further, "Ichigo-san, have you been having these…memories a lot lately?"

She looked up at him, "Actually, yeah, I have."

"Would you care to tell us about them?" Keiichiro asked.

"Uh, okay…" Ichigo said, "Well, the first one was this guy jumping off a building a kissing me, at least, I _think_ he kissed me, I'm not sure, and then the second one was at Minto's party, when I was standing on the balcony-"

"That's why you almost fainted." Kish interrupted.

Ichigo blushed lightly, nodding. "Yeah, it was the same guy, too. Only this time, he had me from behind-" She held her hands up to show them how he had had hold of her, "-and he asked me if I missed him."

Kish stared off into the distance, remembering both times quite clearly. They were the first two times he'd ever gotten to be so close to Ichigo, though at the time he had no idea it would to falling in love with her, he thought he'd just toy around with her a bit and then he'd get over how cute and adorable she was and then, eventually, destroy the planet, which would mean also destroying her, but as time went on he couldn't seem to bring himself to do it, and now he's very glad he didn't.

Ryou looked to Keiichiro, who stared right back at him, and through there eyes they seemed to make a decision, but they would wait to discuss it until they were in private.

"So…what now?" Kish asked.

"For now," Ryou said, "How about we all just get some rest?" He glanced out the window; it was already dark out, "I'll send everyone home and we'll deal with all this at a later time."

* * *

Me: Okay, I swear I tried to end it without a cliffy, so I hope it worked...I think it did, it doesn't seem like a cliffy to me. I wonder if I made everything happen to fast though...DX I'm to paranoid!

Kish: You're damn lucky Kitten is better now!

Me: -.- You're not going to let up on that any time soon, huh?

Kish: No.

Me: *sigh* Read and Review please.


	16. Autumn is Here

Me: Dun da daa! :) A new chapter has finally arrived! I feel like it took me forever to update, haha, anyway...

Thanks for Reading:  
**Meg-buix  
FallingAngel27  
aurla0**

**Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew nor anything related to it.**

* * *

_Ring_

Ichigo jumped down from the ladder she'd been using to put cans of paint away to answer the new customers but once she turned the corner, she saw that it was Ryou, Kish, and Purin. She raised an eyebrow, "_I get that they were worried about me, but do they really think it takes three people just to see how I'm doing?_" She thought to herself. Ichigo twirled a strand of her hair, which was done in two low braids today, as she walked up to them.

"Hey guys," She said, "All three of you, huh?"

"Ichigo-oneechan!" Purin flung herself at Ichigo, wrapping her arms around her waist for a hug.

"Hey!" Ichigo said, hugging the girl back.

"I came to see how you were doing," Ryou said, "Purin is looking for something, and I'm not sure he's here."

"I came," Kish said, "Because I wanted to see Ichigo."

Ichigo hid a blush and looked to Purin, "So then, what are you looking for?"

"Finger paint, na no da!" Purin answered, her eyes shining with excitement.

Ichigo looked up at Ryou and Kish, wondering if giving the hyper girl such a thing was really the best idea. "Um, alright, it's this way."

As Ichigo led the three towards the paint isles, Ryou asked; "So, how are you? We haven't heard from you since you left the café last time."

"That was last night, Ryou," Ichigo said.

"And?" Kish said, "Kitty, that little memory trip of yours left you pretty worn out, everyone's still worried about you."

"Then they're worrying over nothing, because there's nothing to worry about," Ichigo said.

"I don't think-" Kish stared.

"Then you shouldn't talk." Ichigo said, cutting him off and quoting the Mad Hatter.

"Ichigo, your memory is coming back, slowly but surely, and you need to be prepared for what you'll find out." Ryou said.

Ichigo rolled her eyes, stopping and gesturing towards the finger paints for Purin. "Oh, yes, Ryou," She said sarcastically, "because, psh, Kami know I could've been a mew mew or something."

Kish tried not to laugh; she was so adorably clueless! Ryou sighed and said; "Ichigo, you don't remember anything, save for what you saw when you passed out, which, by the way, you still haven't told us."

"It was just me working at the café," Ichigo said, "I was there, Minto was there, Retasu was there, Purin was there, Zakuro was there, Berry and Tasuku were there, well, sometimes, for while they weren't."

"Look, just stop by the café after work, okay?" Ryou said.

"Alright, alright," Ichigo said, "But seriously, there's nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?!" Minto said, rather upset, "She passes out with a head full of memories rushing back to her, out of control, and she expects us to believe there's _nothing to worry about_?!"

"Calm down, Minto," Berry said, "I'm sure she can last a whole day."

"For once, I actually agree with Minty," Kish said. He, Ryou, and Purin had just gotten back from Ichigo's workplace and now, Ryou had called a meeting.

"It's _Minto_!" The blue haired girl corrected, "Not "Minty", not "Mint", _Minto_!"

For the first time since Ichigo's memory rush, Kish grinned, "Whatever you say…Minty-Fresh!"

Retasu held Minto back by her arms, trying desperately to keep her from killing the alien boy. "You," Minto growled, "Are such. An ass!"

"I'm sorry," Kish said, raising an eyebrow, "But I can't fathom as to what would make you think I'm a donkey."

"Gsh!" Minto tried to hit him, but now both Berry and Retasu were holding her back.

"Calm down," Pai said, appearing in front of Minto, "I am assuming this is your way of dealing with the stress of the situation, taking it out on other people, but I ask you to calm down, please."

With a huff, Minto fell back into a chair, crossing her arms over her chest, "I am _not_ taking my stress out on other people. Kish is just an ignorant jerk."

"Thanks, Minty," Kish said, "Nice to know my "friends" care so much." Minto scowled at him.

"Now listen," Ryou said, "I called this meeting to discus something very important and, well, is already being discussed." Everyone silenced and looked at him. "As we all now know, Ichigo's memory is slowly, but surely, coming back, due to Kish's recent attempts despite my warnings-" Kish rolled his eyes, "-and now, there is no turning back on it. We have to go through with getting Ichigo's memory back or it will, at a guess, in time, begin to return on its own, and without help, that could very possibly mean a lot of painful headaches and nightmares for Ichigo."

"So…what are we going to do?" Minto asked, now calm again.

"Whatever we can." Ryou answered. "Dismissed."

Kish stared out the heart shaped window nearest where he was sitting, watching bright colored autumn leafs fall from the tree branches. Winter would be coming soon. As he stared out, he tried to think of his favorite memory of his with Ichigo that happened during the fall…there wasn't one, really, it had come and gone so fast and then the icy hands of winter fell over Tokyo, Japan. Then he remembered something.

"Hey, Ryou," He said, not removing his gaze from the falling leafs, "That human holiday is coming up soon, isn't it? What's it called…All Hollow's Eve, or something like that, right?"

"Halloween?" Purin tried, looking up from her brand-new finger paint set.

"Yeah, that." Kish said.

"What about it?" Ryou asked.

Kish sighed and looked down at the table. "Nothing."

Pai raised an eyebrow at Kish, since when did he care about the human holidays? Well, save for Valentines Day, but he never had any interest in the others, so why care now?

Ichigo folded her arms for attempted warmth as she left Isabelle's Art Shop for the day. She let out a breath, the cold feeling a lot colder than it ever had to her. She let out a quiet giggle as she walked down the sidewalk, she felt like a cat, always wanting to be as warm as she could be.

As usual, when she was walking home, she passed by the tall tower-like building that reminded her of…what did it remind her of? She stopped, like she always did, and looked up at it, a chill running down her spine.

"Konecko-chan!" This time, instead of it being a quiet voice in the back of her mind calling to her, it was actually a real someone, and when looked ahead of her, she saw that that someone was, in fact, Kish.

She smiled, "Kish, hi!"

"Second time today, huh?" Kish said, smiling also as he walked up to her.

She looked confused, "Second time?" Kish's smile grew when he saw her cock her head to the side, she looked so cute!

"Seeing you today," Kish said, "It's the second time."

"Oh!" Ichigo said, realization coming over her, "Yeah, that's right!"

"So, I've never seen you with braids before," Kish said.

"Hm? Oh, yeah," Ichigo ran a hand over her two braids, "I just wanted to try something new, though, it's kind of cold for autumn."

"Here," Kish said. He reached up and pulled the red ribbons out of her hair, undoing the braids and causing them to fall messily around her face, and also now his face was mere inches from hers.

Ichigo blushed, "Er…"

Kish smiled and brushed some hair out of her face, "If you're cold, you shouldn't wear your hair up, Kitten. Besides, you look cute no matter how you look."

Ichigo blushed a deeper red, "Um, thanks…"

"No problem." Kish said, still not moving away. He stared at her lips for a while then into her pretty pink eyes, seemingly getting lost in them.

"So!" Ichigo said, blushing and slipping back a step, also, unknowingly to her, forcing Kish out of his trance-like state, "You never did tell me about before I lost my memory, what we were like together…or…is that why you ran away?"

Kish stared at her a moment, now frowning. He rather didn't like this subject, as it held quite a few painful memories for him. "Well, Kitten, if you want to know the truth…you weren't exactly friendly towards me."

Ichigo looked down at her feet, now feeling slightly embarrassed and ashamed, "Yeah…Berry told that I-"

"Hated me?" Kish finished for her, Ichigo nodded, "Well, I must say, I don't rightly blame you, I was always annoying you and making you mad, and all on purpose too."

Ichigo looked up at him, "But if you like someone, why do that to them?"

Kish sighed and casually slid an arm around her shoulders, beginning to lead her down the sidewalk, "Ah, Ichigo, all in good time my dear, all in good time."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo asked.

"Never mind right now," Kish said, "Besides, I still owe you that date I promised."

"Yes!" Ichigo said, poking him in the ribs, "You do!"

"So, where should we go for our first date?" Kish asked.

Ichigo blushed, "I thought Minto's party was our first date?"

"Well, considering it got trashed by a Minto's dog and a bunch of over-sized pigeons, I'm not to sure it counts."

"Those were crows." Ichigo said.

"Right…" Kish said, "Well, then, how about I treat you to lunch then?"

Ichigo giggled, "Sure!"

And the two headed off for the inner city of Tokyo.

"Where'd Kish go?" Zakuro asked Keiichiro, setting down a silver tray on the counter.

"I do believe he went to take Ichigo out for his lunch break," Keiichiro answered, "Here, would you please set these up on the display near the register?"

"Sure." Zakuro took the tray of freshly baked cupcakes and walked back out to the front room, setting them up on the display next to the cash register, which Retasu was working at the moment. Zakuro glanced at her, turning to her and raising an eyebrow once she was done with the cupcakes, the girl was being unusually quiet. "Minto? Is something wrong?"

"No, Zakuro, I'm fine." Minto answered, not looking up from the register.

Zakuro narrowed her eyes and put her hands on Minto's shoulder, leading her out from behind the counter and back into the girl's dressing room.

"Zakuro-oneesama? What is it?" Minto asked.

Zakuro didn't answer until they had gotten into the dressing room and were seated on the bench between the several lined up lockers, "Minto," She started, "Something is bothering you."

"What makes you think that?" Minto asked, looking away.

"I know you," Zakuro said, "You always call me by "oneesama" and-" She turned Minto's head so she was looking at her, "-you always look me in the eyes."

Minto bit her lower lip, "I…I guess I'm just worried about…someone."

"Ichigo." It wasn't a question, Zakuro knew it was Ichigo, she was Minto's best friend weather she'd admit it or not.

With a sigh, Minto nodded, "Yes, Ichigo. What if this memory goes wrong? You heard Ryou, if we don't act on it, she might…" She trailed off, seemingly unable to finish.

"Suffer." Zakuro finished.

Minto nodded again, straining back threatening tears, "And all because we didn't give it back to her when we should have!"

"Minto," Zakuro said, "I know how you feel. I am also worried about Ichigo; she is a dear friend to all of us."

Minto let out a sad chuckle, "And Ryou tried to tell me that Berry was our leader now. She's one of my closest friends, no doubt, but she can't replace Ichigo."

"No one can." Zakuro said, "But that's the thing about mew mews. You remember what we always, right?"

Minto looked up her, a faint smile on her lips, "Mew Mews are friends till the very end."

Zakuro gave a rare smile, "Right, and no matter what, so that means Ichigo is and forever will be a friend, and we'll get through this." Minto smiled. "Feel better now?"

"Yes!" Minto said.

"Good," Zakuro said, standing, "Now let's get back to work before Ryou finds us."

Ichigo and Kish walked through the city together, "There's so many places to choose from!" Kish said in amazement.

Ichigo giggled, "Where do you want to go?"

"Um…" He looked around and spotted one place that looked rather interesting. "How about that place?" He said, gesturing towards it.

Ichigo looked over at it, "I love that place! My dad used to take me there all the time when I was little!"

Kish hugged Ichigo from behind, causing her to blush, and said into her ear, "You still are little."

"Psh, maybe compared to _you_!" Ichigo said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kish asked.

Ichigo broke free of Kish and ran to where their intended date was to be, "You gotta catch me first!"

"Hey!" Kish said, running after her, "Get back here!"

Some people smiled at the two, admiring what a sweet young couple they were while others looked on in slight annoyance at the running and loud voices. They walked into the old-fashioned eighties diner, forgetting about the chase, and went to order their lunches.

They sat at a window booth, "What should we get?" Ichigo asked, looking down at a menu.

"Dunno," Kish said, "Never been here before."

"We could split a pizza," Ichigo said, "Though; I'll probably end up only eating one slice."

Kish grinned, "See? You are small. It shows in how much you eat."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at him playfully, "Just order already."

* * *

Me: Okay, so almost nothing happened in this chapter. And I think Zakuro was way OOC...*sigh* I've been kind of out of it with the whole writing thing as of late, but I think it's starting to pass! Which is good. The only thing I seem to be pretty much okay on is ther fairytales...hehe...

Kish: Zakuro dies in two of them!

Me: Was does it not surprise me that that amuses you?

Kish: :)

Me: And thanks to all the wonderful fairytales and a book I read called _Mimus_ (one of the most awesome books I've ever read!) I got an idea for another story, though I'm not sure if I'll go with it seeing as I'm still only playing with the idea. :) It has to do with jesters and is slightly based off several fairytales, and of course, it's a KishxIchigo!

Kish: Yeah...so anyway, Read and Reveiw please!


	17. Officially Official

Me: I am so, so sorry it took forever to update, I've been seriously brain-shot all week, it's not even funny. I mean, it was working -my brain- for while, and then it's kind of like an old computer, it just...stops. That's what writer's block is for me. Okay, so maybe it was a little funny, but anyway! Here's a new chapter!

Thanks for reading:  
**Meg-buix** (your comment gave me an idea to start the chapter!)

**Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew nor anything related to it.**

* * *

Ichigo blinked and, after a moment, wiped the yellow paint Purin had smeared onto the tip of her nose off. Why had she agreed to this? This child plus finger paint would no doubt mean utter chaos. Yet there she was, wearing old cutoff shorts and a faded pink t-shirt, sitting on a large, worn-out looking and ragged white sheet, painting a big, white canvas with several different vibrant colors. Purin herself was also wearing painting clothes, dressed in a pair of overalls and an orange t-shirt, as the two played around with the messy paint set. One good thing; her five siblings were being babysat for the rest of the night.

Minto and Berry were there as well, having also been invited along with Retasu and Zakuro, but were the only two who couldn't come up with a well enough excuse. Though, Minto's reason for actually coming anyway seemed to be just so she could fuss at Ichigo about, well, everything.

"Is it really so bad," Ichigo said, smearing a bit of yellow paint onto the picture she was painting with her hands, "that he called you Minty?"

"Yes." Minto said flatly. "It's annoying and-"

"Ryou calls me Strawberry," Ichigo interrupted, "So does Kish sometimes, and not to mention you yourself. Maybe it's just his way of acknowledging you as a friend."

"Kish-oniichan calls Tar-Tar Midget sometimes, na no da!" Purin said.

"See?" Ichigo said, "I doubt he means anything by it." Minto looked rather annoyed and stared out the window.

Ichigo looked back to her painting on the white sheet in front of her, it was a Purin, only she was wearing a yellow jumpsuit-looking thing and had what looked like monkey ears.

"Um, Ichigo," Berry said, "No offence, but…maybe you should stick with drawing." She was right, Ichigo noticed, her proportions with the whole face and upper body were completely off and it looked quite…bad to say the least. She was a drawer, not a painter.

"I think you're right." Ichigo said.

"I _know_ she's right." Minto said.

"Ichigo-oneechan!" Purin said, Ichigo looked over at her and suddenly…two small hands were cupping her cheeks, planting a red-paint handprint on each.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow before putting the tips of her fingers in the pink paint smearing them across the girl's forehead. Purin gave her a look that obviously meant a war had been started. Minto and Berry sat at the table, watching the two have fun in their paint war but preferring to stay clean, rather than join in and get their nice clothes stained.

By the time night had fell and it was time for dinner, Ichigo and Purin were covered in all colors of pain. A blue streak ran along Purin's right cheek, orange, brown, white, and purple ones on her left arm, pink, green, gold, and silver on her right arm, the tip of a lock of her hair was red, and on the very tip of her nose was brown. Her clothes, however, were covered with all the colors. Ichigo wasn't much different, only she had a light green streak in her left pigtail, the two red handprints on her cheeks, and all colors of the rainbow on her arms and legs.

Minto sighed, shaking her head, "You two are a dire mess."

"They had fun!" Berry said. Purin and Ichigo grinned, nodding.

"Much!" They said in unison.

* * *

Once Ichigo got home, she took a bath and watched as the streaks of colors ran from her body to the water filling the tub. She leaned back and sank into the water, being careful not to breathe, and enjoyed the warm water all over her. And then, her head began to feel foggy and she was slightly dizzy. She guessed it was from lack of oxygen but then, images flashed before her eyes.

_She was standing in the middle of a deserted road. It was just her and the alien version of Kish. First he was on top of a lamppost, then he was next to her, then behind her. "I'll take you with me," He said, "To paradise." Then they were on the floor, and he was strangling her, "Why do you have to be in love with him?!"_

Ichigo shot up, out of the water, gasping for air. Her breathing was heavy, and she was shaking slightly, like she actually had been being strangled. What was _that_ all about? Quickly, she finished bathing and got out, drying herself off and getting dressed in warmer clothes than what she'd been paining in; pink pajama pants and a red t-shirt that had cardboard box filled with kittens on the front. She couldn't shake the weird things she'd seen from her head. Literally shaking her head, she went to her small bookshelf on the wall and got a manga, curling back on her bed and beginning to read.

It wasn't long until she fell asleep, the book having fallen to the bed and the light still on. Outside her window, in the tree, sat Kish. He didn't know why, but he wanted to see her really badly, more than usual, so he'd teleported to the tree he'd sat in outside her window back when they were enemies. He smiled when he saw her light on but Ichigo fast asleep on her bed, some book between her hands as she lay there. He glanced over his shoulder, though for what purpose he wasn't too sure, before floating over and opening her window so he could slip through and put her to bed properly.

He tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear and looked down at the book she'd been reading. _Fruits Basket_ it was titled and it had a picture of a little blonde haired boy on it. He set it on her bedside table and then pulled the covers over her, tucking them around her securely. She mumbled something in her sleep. Kish leaned closer, trying to hear what Ichigo had said.

"Aoyoma-kun…" Ichigo mumbled, "He can't be…" Aoyoma? Kish pulled away. Why was she dreaming about _him_? And what couldn't be? "Deep Blue…" Oh. That's what. So, she was dreaming about Aoyoma becoming Deep Blue? How often did she have these kinds of dreams? He'd have to ask Pai or someone about it tomorrow. Ichigo began to stir. Kish backed away, he knew that if anyone found out he'd gone to her house without being invited and had teleported there, and well, snuck in, he'd be dead. Ichigo stopped and was lying peacefully again, so he turned off her light and teleported away before she did wake up and find him there.

"Where were you?" Tart asked once he'd gone back to the ship.

"Just out," Kish said, "getting some fresh air."

"Right," Tart said, though he didn't sound like he actually believed him.

Kish went to his room, lying on his back, on his bed. He was still thinking about Ichigo, what had she actually been dreaming? Was it really a memory? If so, did that happen every night? He rolled onto his stomach and stretched his arms out under his pillow. He still wanted to see her. He wanted to stay with her, but…he couldn't. If she had woken up and found him in her room, she'd freak. She didn't remember that he could simply teleport to any place he wanted to be, or that he could fly. She didn't remember anything about him. Save for what she'd seen in those memories, but she didn't know that he and the guy with the "big ears and weird clothes" were one in the same. But what would she think if she _did_ know? Without remembering anything, what if she knew he was an alien? Kish curled up on his side now, wondering what she'd thought of him in the first place, back when she'd first met him. After a while, though he didn't know how long he'd been lying there, he fell asleep.

* * *

When Ichigo woke up, it was as usual, she remembered nothing of her dreams. It was odd, she thought, that she never remembered her dreams anymore. What were they about that was so secret? She got out of bed and got dressed for school, getting a quick and small breakfast on her way out seeing as she was late, like always.

When she got there, she found Berry waiting for her at the gate. "Late as always," She said, smirking.

"Sorry," Ichigo said, "but we're both going to be late for class if we don't hurry!"

Berry looked up at the clock on front building of the school, "Oh, crap! Let's go!" She grabbed Ichigo's wrist and darted off.

They slid into the classroom just before the teacher walked in. "Good morning, class!" He said, walking to his desk and setting his stack of papers and books on it. Sighing, Ichigo and Berry each took their seats.

After school, when Ichigo walked out the doors, she found Kish was once again sitting on the cement railing of the front steps. She smirked, raising an eyebrow at him, "Is this going to become a regular thing?"

He grinned, "Can it?"

She giggled, "Sure."

Kish patted the space next to him, "Care to join me? I'm supposed to wait until Tasuku reappears with Berry."

"Alright, I still have a little while." Ichigo said, walking over and sitting on the railing.

"A little while for what?" Kish asked.

"Work," Ichigo sighed, "I have to be there in half an hour."

"I see," Kish said, "So then that means you have half an hour to do whatever you want, right?"

Ichigo looked at him warily, "Yeah, and?"

"Care for the park much?" Kish asked.

"I wish I could," Ichigo said, "But I have a ton of homework to do, and I still have to go home, get ready, and get there before my shift starts."

"Oh," Kish said, slightly disappointed, "Another time then, maybe?"

"Maybe," Ichigo said. She yawned.

Kish smirked, "Tired already?"

Ichigo shook her head, "It's weird, I haven't been getting that good of sleep lately, I wake up like I've had nightmare or something."

Kish remembered what he'd heard when he went to her the night before, "Bad dreams, huh? What of?"

"That's the thing," Ichigo said, "I don't remember them."

"You don't remember your dreams?" Kish said.

"Yeah, I wake up like I've had this terrible dream in the middle of the night," Ichigo said, "And then I don't remember anything about it."

"Huh…" Kish said, wondering if maybe she's been dreaming about her memories, but she never remembers. Suddenly, Ichigo punched his arm, "Ow! What was that for?" He asked, rubbing his arm.

"You still haven't told me what we were like before I forgot!" Ichigo said, "And for that matter, where have you been?"

"You don't have to hit me for it." Kish said.

"How's this," Ichigo said, "You wanted to go the park, right?" Kish nodded, "Well, maybe you could walk me home instead," Ichigo blushed lightly, "and tell me there."

Kish smirked, "Walk you home, huh?" Ichigo nodded, "Alright. It's a deal."

"What's a deal?" He looked and saw Zakuro standing next to him, "Where in the world did you come from?"

"My parents." Zakuro said, "What's a deal?"

"Kish is going to walk me home!" Ichigo said, still blushing.

"Oh." Zakuro gave Kish a cautious look, almost warning, and obviously not trusting him to do something stupid like the last time he and Ichigo were left alone.

"I'll be careful," Kish mouthed to the purple haired woman, but she still seem to believe him, aloud he said, "Yeah, could you tell Tasuku for me?"

"Yes." Zakuro said.

"Thanks!" With that, Kish leapt off the railing, grabbing Ichigo hand, and took off.

"See you later, Zakuro!" Ichigo called back.

"I never said I was going to." Zakuro said and walked back into the school to find the rest of the mews.

On the way there, Kish told Ichigo how she'd known Tart and Pai, too, and that they'd had to move somewhere far away, when she suggested the "United States" he went with it, saying they'd moved to a place he'd heard of there called "New York" because of Pai's "job" and had returned to Tokyo, Japan because he got fired, which she seemed to think was funny, but obviously tried to hide it. Once they reached Ichigo's house, she opened the door and led him in.

"My parents aren't home," She said rather sheepishly, "I hope you don't mind."

Kish shook his head, "It's fine!"

"Great, so…" She looked down at her wristwatch, "I'm going to go get changed real quick, then I'll be back down, 'kay?"

"Alright." Kish said. Ichigo turned and started up the stairs.

Kish began to look around and saw a tall bookshelf with only a few books on it, a pot with a plant in it, and a few pictures. One of the first pictures was of Ichigo with her parents, only she was about eight or so, her pink hair up in pigtails and her pink eyes sparkling. She was wearing a red one-piece swimsuit that had pink strawberries on it and a miniskirt, her parents were also wearing swimsuits, as they were standing in front of the beach, smiling at the camera. The next one was of her parents, together, hugging in front of an ice-cream shop, Kish smiled at that and wondered if he and Ichigo would ever be like that. Then he heard said little neko bounding down the stairs.

"Back!" She said.

Kish turned around and saw her. She was wearing a pleated denim miniskirt that had a strawberry patch on the bottom left corner, an over-sized black hoodie that had cat ears on the hood, and black and pink striped thigh-high socks. He smiled at her, "You look cute."

She blushed, ignoring him, "Hungry?"

He shrugged, "A little I guess, you?"

She nodded, "I skipped lunch."

"Why?" Kish asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ichigo sighed, wrapping her arms over her stomach, "I was drawing, and I didn't want to stop."

(A/N: I've actually done that before…)

Kish laughed, "Alright, but what about your job?"

Ichigo looked at the clock on the living room wall, "I have about five minutes of free time, then I have to get going."

"Okay, so what should we have then?" Kish asked, now following Ichigo into the kitchen.

"Ummm…" Ichigo thought for a moment, "how does sandwiches sound?"

"Great!" Kish said.

"And while I'm making them you can tell me about how we were," Ichigo said, "You keep avoiding the subject."

"If I must," Kish said with an dramatic sigh as he slid onto one of the kitchen table chairs, "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl named-" He stopped when Ichigo turned around, giving him a look with one hand on her hip, the other drumming her fingers on the counter. He cleared his throat, "Well, you didn't like much," Ichigo turned back around to make their sandwiches, "if fact, you I thought you hated me."

Ichigo lowered her head, "We've already acknowledged that part…"

"Yeah," Kish said, "So anyway, I was always trying to win you over-"

Now Ichigo looked up at him, "Win me over?"

Kish nodded, "From- oh, right. You don't remember going out with him, do you?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, "With who?"

"Masaya," Kish said, "Masaya Aoyoma."

Ichigo slowly shook her head, "No…I think he moved to like, London or something."

"Yeah, London, England," Kish said, "And you always hated it when I did, yelling at me to go away, leave you alone, all that. I never did, I was to persistent and much more stubborn than you."

For the next five minutes, as Kish and Ichigo ate their sandwiches, he told her all about how he nearly stalked her, ruining her dates and making her mad, and how she always told him to beat it, but of course, leaving out all the parts where they'd fought, nearly killing each other a few times, and how when he'd died in her arms, he'd never been happier. She just wouldn't understand right yet.

"Well," Ichigo said, standing and taking their plates over to the sink, "I need to get going before I'm late."

"I could walk you there," Kish offered, but that hop faded when she shook her head.

"What about your own job?" Ichigo said, "You have to get to work at the café, right?"

"Yeah," Kish said. He stood, "Well then, I guess it's goodbye for the day."

"Yeah," Ichigo said, "I guess so, huh?" Kish smiled at her, staring, and she blushed. "What?" She asked.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"For what?" Ichigo asked, sounding confused.

Kish walked up to her, saying, "For this," And kissed her, snaking his arms around her waist to pull her closer. After a moment, she kissed back, wrapping her arms around his neck, but she was the one to pull away first, she need air. Kish licked his lips, "So…if we've been on two dates, kissed three times-"

"Three times?" Ichigo asked, surprised.

"Yes," Kish said, "Three times, then does that make me your boyfriend?"

Ichigo blushed a fiery red, "Um, I-I…I guess?"

Kish smirked, "It's a yes or no, am I or not?"

Ichigo smiled, "Yes!"

Kish grinned, pecking her on the lips, "Good." She giggled and Kish let her go, "Now, if Koneko-chan doesn't want to be late for work, she'd better get going."

Ichigo looked at the stove clock, she was three minutes past when she was supposed to have left, "Crap!" She darted for the door, pulling her boots on, on the way out, Kish calmly following her, and once at the sidewalk, they he gave a quick hug, saying he'd see her soon, and they each took off for their own work places.

* * *

Kish nearly burst through the café doors, "It's official!" He exclaimed, grinning.

"What…is?" Tart, who was sitting at table, asked.

"Me and Ichigo! It's officially official!" Kish said.

"You and Ichigo…?" Minto said, prodding him to give further explanation.

"I am officially her boyfriend!" Kish said, rather proudly. Minto looked somewhat surprised, but still like she'd been expecting it.

"You do realize this doesn't mean she loves you, right?" Ryou said.

"Yet." Kish said.

"I think it's great!" Berry said. "Maybe we could double sometime!"

Kish looked at her, raising an eyebrow, "Double?" He looked past her at Tasuku who was waving his hands, his eyes wide, shaking his head, telling to not even ask without actually saying it. When Berry looked at him, he pretended to be yawning and stretching.

"Yeah, you know, a double date," Berry said, turning back to Kish, "You and Ichigo would be on a date, and my and Tasuku would be too, but we'd stick together."

"Okay," Kish said, "Why?"

"It's fun, trust me!" Berry said. Tasuku just shook his head.

* * *

Me: Well...not much happened in this chapter either...xp save for a lot of KishxIchigo talking, and they became "officially official" as Kish put it. But, I hope it wasn't to boring!

Kish: ;.; So happy...!

Me: O.o right...so anyway, Read and Review please!


	18. It's Tracking Her

Me: I am so, so, _so_ sorry that this took forever to write. Heh, writer's block is a serious pain...anyway, I've finally made a new chapter, and decided on what to actually do with the story, so I really hope everyone likes it!

Thanks for Reading:  
**Med-buix** -Yeah, sugar high much I think, hehe-  
**Lilyflower-314** -go Furuba!^.^-

**Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew nor anything related to it!**

* * *

Berry swept the fallen leafs up with a broom outside Café Mew Mew and into the woodened area next to the sidewalk. As she stared up at the autumn sky, she couldn't believe September was already over and it was now October, and also, like Kish had said, Halloween would be coming up soon, only a few weeks away. What would it be like this year?

Suddenly, an arm snaked around her waist and she gasped, though she new who it was, she'd just been startled. "Tasuku," She sighed, relaxing against him.

"Hey, Berry Bunny!" He said, kissing her cheek. "I didn't scare you did I?"

"A little, but its okay," Berry said, "I can't believe it's already October, though."

"Yeah, almost a whole half year since Ichigo lost her memory," Tasuku said, "But in other news, Ryou is sending us to the city."

"What for?" Berry asked.

"Well, the manager at Isabella's Art Shop ordered a cake for her niece's birthday," Tasuku said, "And to check up on Ichigo. He also wants us to invite her."

Berry turned in his arm to look up at him, "Invite her where?"

Tasuku smiled at the confused look on her face and kissed her, "to the cafe." He said once he pulled away. He grabbed the broom, threw it onto the lawn, grabbed Berry's hand, and ran off.

"Tasuku, we can't just _leave_!" Berry said, trying to keep up as he pulled her along.

"Yes we can!" Tasuku said, grinning over his shoulder at her. He held up a small pink box he'd been holding behind his back.

Tasuku and Berry ran, hand-in-hand, to the metro station, and then boarded to head to inner Tokyo City, where Ichigo's workplace was. Once they got there and got off, they made their way for the small shop.

The bells on the door of the shop chimed as they entered and Ichigo, sitting on her stool as she drew, looked up. "Hey, Ichigo!" Berry said, waving.

Ichigo smiled, "Hey!" She set her pencil and sketchpad down and walked over, ducking under the small, open space where the employees could get in and out from behind the counter. "What brings you two here?"

"Ryou, really," Berry said, "We have a delivery for your manager, Mai.""Oh, alright, just set it on the counter, she'll get it later." Ichigo said, "Anything else?"

"Ryou would like for you to come to the café today." Tasuku said.

"What for?" Ichigo asked.

"Something about Halloween," Tasuku said, "He wasn't to clear."

"Yeah, we should" Berry said, "Bye, Ichigo!"

"Bye, Berry, bye Tasuku!" Ichigo said as she watched them leave.

She turned and went back to her drawing, it was almost done. On her paper was a picture of a young man with dark hair tied into two ponytails on either side of his face, light eyes, baggy clothes that barely covered him enough to be considered proper, and long, elf-like ears. She looked at it, the eraser of her pencil poking her lower lip, and wondered why it looked familiar. It was like she'd seen it befo- of course! She _had_ seen it before, when she fainted from all those memories, that alien guy named Kish. She still found it weird how her Kish and the one in her mind looked so similar, and they even had the same name. She blushed. Her Kish. Hers…she giggled. It still made her blush to know that she had a boyfriend that was -in her sugar coated mind- her first, even though it had already been a week since it had been confirmed. Pushing these thoughts aside for another time, she resumed her drawing.

* * *

"So why does Ryou want to talk to Ichigo about Halloween, exactly?" Berry asked as she washed the dishes in the café.

"We're not sure," Keiichiro answered, smoothing out the batter he was going to be using to make cookies. "But my guess is that it has something to do with the cafe."

"Okay but then why ask Ichigo _now_?" Berry said, "I mean if it's not for another few weeks then why not wait a bit?"

"Well, I think he has some other things in mind." Keiichiro said. He took out a cookie cutter and pressed them to the dough.

Berry spun around, hands still sopping with suds and water, "He better not be planning to ask her out or anything, she's with Kish!"

"Yes, I know," Keiichiro said, "And he knows that, too. I doubt that's what he has in mind, Berry, she's too much of a little sister to him for those kinds of thoughts to be in his head."

Berry turned back to the sink and resumed washing the dishes, "Good."

Kish, who had been listening by the door, also wondered what Ryou had in mind. He looked over at the clock on the wall and saw that it was almost time for Ichigo's job to be over for the day, which made him wonder if she'd be coming over today. Even though he'd seen her the day before but still, he could never get enough of her. He slipped into the kitchen to set the bus pan full of dishes he'd been carrying next to the sink.

"You were listening." Berry said matter-of-factly.

"How did you…?" Kish trailed off.

Berry pointed to her ears, "Rabbit."

"Right," Kish looked away, "So…he's _not_ going to try asking Ichigo out, right?"

"No, Kish, there's no need to worry about that." Keiichiro said. He peeled the shaped dough pieces off the counter and carefully placed them on the cookie sheet.

"He'd better not," Kish said, "'cause she's mine." With that he left.

* * *

Ryou sat in his lab, Minto in the seat next to him and looking extremely bored as she leaned on the computer desk.

"What are we looking for again?" She asked.

"Traces of where the Chimera Animas are coming from." Ryou answered, "If we can find that then we'll know who's setting them off."

Minto sat up strait, looking at the locator screen in confusion, "Hey, Ryou?"

"Yeah?" He said, his hands flying over the keyboard in front of him and not even looking up at her.

"Berry's tracker is white, right?" Minto asked.

"Yeah." Ryou said.

"And Ichigo's is pink." Minto said.

Ryou stopped, though he still kept his eyes glued to the screen in front of him, "Yes."

"If she's dormant then why is she showing up on the tracker?" Minto asked.

Now Ryou looked over, "What do you mean she's showing up?"

"I mean she's showing up," Minto said, and pointed the blinking light pink dot on the screen, "there she is, and she's heading right for the café."

"Her powers are dormant," Ryou said, "the tracker shouldn't be picking up anything from her!"

"Yeah, well, it is." Minto said, "Do you think…could she be getting her powers back?"

"It's not impossible," Ryou said, "But she shouldn't remember enough yet, so why would they-"

"Ryou-oniichaaaan!" Purin called from the top of the stairs, "Minto-oneechan! Ichigo-oneechan is here, na no da!"

"We know!" Minto yelled back up.

"Let's go," Ryou said, standing, "we'll figure this out later."

Minto nodded and stood, following him out of the lab and up the stairs. Ichigo was in the doorway still and Kish was already right next to her, his arms wrapped around her waist in a hug.

"Ichigo," Ryou said, "Nice to see you."

"Hey, Ryou!" Ichigo said, "Minto."

"Ichigo," Minto said, "what brings you here today?"

"Tasuku said you wanted to invite me to some Halloween thing," Ichigo said, "And to stop by sometime, so I figured now was as good a time as any."

"I missed you!" Kish said, still hugging her.

"You saw me a few hours ago," Ichigo said, "You walked me home from school, remember?"

"I still missed you!" Kish said. "I was gone for what? Two years? Just think of all the time we have to catch up on!"

Ichigo sighed, "So, what about this Halloween thing?"

"The main reason I wanted you talk to you about it," Ryou said, "is because I would like for you to help with decorating the place for the upcoming holiday."

"Now?" Ichigo said, "But it's not until the end of this month, why not wait?"

Ryou shrugged, "Just because. It's best to get things done earlier than later."

"Does this have anything to do with wanting to keep an eye on me?" Ichigo asked with suspicion.

"It does, actually," Ryou said, "Ichigo, you might think you're fine but something tells me you're not, and until we get this all sorted out I'd like to keep as close of an eye on you as I can."

Ichigo rolled her eyes, "So what's next? You're going to have one of the girls work where I do?"

"Actually," Ryou said, "That might not be a bad idea."

"No!" Ichigo said, "Look, I'm fine, okay? _Fine_! I don't t need a babysitter!"

"I was joking, Ichigo," Ryou said, "But lets get back to why you're actually here."

For the next half hour or so Ryou, Minto, Ichigo, and Kish talked about what to do with the café. Well, it was more Ryou, Minto, and Ichigo than anything, Kish just kind of listened or tuned out and stared at Ichigo. He had missed her so much when he was back on his planet, it had gotten to the point where she was all would think about, all he _could_ think about, thus being why he'd bugged Pai so much to let them go for a visit. Though he definitely hadn't been expecting Ichigo to have lost her memory, or for her to have become his girlfriend -though he had hoped for something of the sort-, and it had all really happened. Though did still suck that she lost her memory, some good had come out of it. There was just one little problem; what if she hated him again when she got her memory back? Would that happen or would she still want to be with him? He could only hope for the best.

Later, Ichigo had to go home and Zakuro had decided that she was the one who would be walking her home, much to Kish's protests and requests to go with them anyway, but she wanted to talk to Ichigo alone. Though, no one really knew why.

Zakuro pulled on her long, black trench coat and led Ichigo home. "Is there some reason you wanted to walk me home?" Ichigo asked as they walked down the sidewalk.

"There is." Zakuro said.

"And what would that be?" Ichigo asked.

"I just wanted to talk," Zakuro said, she gave her a rare smile, "Everyone misses you, it's not fair that Kish keeps you to himself."

Ichigo giggled, "Is that it? You could have just said so!"

"Yes, well, I've said it now," Zakuro said, "So tell me, how have you been?"

"Fi-"

"Honestly." Zakuro cut her off.

Ichigo sighed and looked away, "Will no one let up on that?"

"Just tell me, Ichigo." Zakuro said.

"Honestly, I'm fine," Ichigo said, "I don't see what everyone's so worried about. I mean, sure I fainted because of all those memories, but it's not like I almost died or anything, I'm fine."

"Has there been any more?" Zakuro asked, "Memories I mean."

"Well," Ichigo sighed, "I'm not sure, really. When I wake up in the mornings, I can never remember my dreams, and it always feels like I've forgotten something really important, something that I should be remembering but I just can't."

"It's true," Zakuro said, "You are missing all those memories."

"Sure, but I mean it feels like it was something recent," Ichigo said, "You know? Like waking up and not remembering the day before, and then suddenly it all rushes back to you, only I can't seem to remember."

"Interesting," Zakuro said, "Do you have any guesses on what your dreams could be about?"

"I don't know," Ichigo said, "I guess it could be memories, maybe ones that are just not ready to be remembered or something, but other that guess I have no idea."

"I'm sure we will get through this soon." Zakuro said, looking towards the sky. It being evening now, the sky was set in beautiful shades gold, reds, and yellows, and the sun was setting over the city, casting the world in an orange glow. The wind picked up in a gentle breeze and a few leafs in the ground skittered around.

Zakuro stopped suddenly, standing very still.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked.

"Go back to the café." Zakuro said.

"What? Why?" Ichigo asked.

"Just go!" Zakuro said. Urgently she turned and gave Ichigo a push in the direction of the café, "Go to the café and don't leave!"

"Zakuro, what's going on?" Ichigo asked, "Why are acting weird?"

"Go, Ichigo!" Zakuro said, and as soon as the words left her lips a loud, metallic roar sounded, like one you would expect to hear from dinosaur.

Ichigo look over her shoulder at Zakuro, "What about you-"

"I'll be fine, now go!" Zakuro said and gave her another push. Ichigo took off for the café, wondering where that roar had come from and what was going on.

Ichigo ran all the way back to Café Mew Mew, breathless by the time she got there and burst through the café doors. She panted, leaning on her knees.

"Ichigo, what's wrong?" Berry asked standing and rushing over to her.

"Z-Zakuro…" Ichigo breathed, "Something happened-"

"What happened to Zakuro-oneesan?" Minto asked.

"I don't know," Ichigo said, standing up strait, "We were just walking, and then there was this loud roar and she told me to come here. She said she would be fine, but…"

Berry glanced at the other mews, "We'll go look for her. You stay here with everyone else."

"But-"

"Let's go." Berry said to the others, cutting her off.

Ichigo watched as Minto, Retasu, Purin, and Berry all ran out the door, leaving her and she felt like…like she should be gong with them, like she should be the one telling them to go out and find Zakuro. But she wasn't and couldn't. She jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder; she looked and saw it was Keiichiro.

"Ichigo-san," He said, "They will be fine, trust me, they always are." Ichigo stayed silent, staring out the door worriedly until Kish went over and pulled her into a hug.

* * *

Fifteen minutes into the battle and already the mews were breathless. The Chimera Anima was some strange creature mixed between, from what they could tell, was a bear and a dog. It was a dark, reddish gray with bear paws and head but a dog's body and tail and it was _huge_, reaching almost as tall as the trees.

Minto flew into the sky, preparing her bow, pulling the string back as far as she could and cried, "RIBBON…MINT ECHO!" The blue arrow flew at the Anima, hitting right in the left eye.

"RIBBON…PUDDING RING INFERNO!" Jumping into the air and landing on a tree branch, Purin banged her two weapons together and a yellow jelly substance trapped the Anima in its place.

"RIBBON…LOVEBERRY CHECK!"

"RIBBON…LETTUCE RUSH!"

"RIBBON…ZAKURO SPEAR!"

The three attacks hit the Anima all at once, defeating it. A large dog looked around, apparently confused, but then ran off.

"I've got it! I've got it!" Ucha, Berry's pet robot ate up the alien parasite.

"Where do these things keep coming from?" Berry said.

"Ryou and I were tracking them today," Minto said, "We couldn't find anything, but you know there was something weird."

"What was it?" Retasu asked.

"Ichigo showed on the tracker screen," Minto said, "Ryou said she shouldn't be but her little pink dot was there. I wonder if maybe that has anything to do with these recent Chimera Animas."

"Maybe, but lets get back to the café," Berry said, "Ichigo seemed pretty worried about Zakuro." The very corner of Zakuro's lips twitched upward, though unnoticeable to anyone but herself.

The five de-transformed and headed back, each of them wondering how they would explain the event to Ichigo. They knew she wouldn't have just gone to the café and forgotten it; there would definitely be questions and lots of them. Their only question, however, was what they would tell her.

They got to the café and found more than they had left. Pai and Tart were sitting at a table with Ryou, Keiichiro, Tasuku, Kish, and Ichigo. Almost immediately Ichigo jumped up and rushed over to them.

"What happened?" She asked, "Are you guys okay? What was that?"

"We're fine, Ichigo." Minto said, "It was nothing, just some dumb dog that tried to attack Zakuro-oneesan."

"A dog tried to attack you?!" Ichigo cried, turning towards Zakuro.

"I am fine." Zakuro said. Ichigo looked her up and down before finally nodding.

"If you say so." She said.

"Kish, would you walk Ichigo home please?" Berry said.

"Sure!" Kish stood and walked over to Ichigo, looping his arm around hers and leading her out saying, "Let's go, Kitten."

"But, what about-"

"Bye, Ichigo!" Berry cut her off, waving, and then closed the door behind them. She sighed and turned back to face everyone else, first she turned to Minto, "A dog? A dog that tried to attack _Zakuro_?"

"It was the first thing I could think of!" Minto said.

"Zakuro has _wolf_ genes!" Berry said, "What dog would attack her?"

"Berry-san, please," Keiichiro said, "Ichigo-san doesn't know that Zakuro-san has wolf genes, so to her it is believable."

Berry looked to the floor, "You're right. Sorry, Minto."

Minto shrugged, "its okay."

"Anyway, I tried tracking where the Chimera Anima came from _while_ it was alive," Ryou said, "And I think I might know who's responsible for them."

"Who?" Berry asked. "Er, _what_?"

"They left," Ryou said, "We hadn't seen them for so long I really thought they wouldn't be of any trouble anymore, but I guess I was wrong."

"Who is it, na no da?" Purin asked.

"At a guess; the Saint Rose Crusaders." Ryou said.

* * *

Me: Well, that's the best I can give with writer's block, hope it was okay! Does anyone like the "Saint Rose Crusaders are back" idea? From what I've read there aren't that many with them in it, er, _any_ with them in it, so I thought it would be unique...

Kish: Read and Review please! There should be more chapters coming sooner since she actually knows what she's doing now!


	19. Sugar Sweet Juliet

Me: ^^ A has new chapter for everyone! I told you they would be coming faster now that I know what I'm donig! ;P

Kish: Actually, I do believe I said that.

Me: On with the chapter!

Thanks for reading:  
**Rizu Neko-Chan  
Lilyflower314**

**Disclaimer: Did Ichigo fall in love with Kish? Was Berry full bunny? Proof that StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew.**

* * *

"The Saint Rose who?" Kish asked. After he'd gotten back from walking Ichigo home, they told him about Ryou's suspicions.

"The Saint Rose Crusaders," Ryou said, "the people who tried to take over the world after you did, they were the reason Mew Berry was created."

"And these…people, they're back?" Kish said.

"So is our guess," Keiichiro said, "When Ryou tried tracking where the Chimera Anima came from; he found similar traces to them."

"Now our only question is _why _they're back." Minto said. "I mean, I don't get it, why would they come back after a whole year of peace?"

"Is anyone else noticing a pattern here?" Berry asked, "First it's the aliens one year, then the next it's the Saint Rose Crusaders, and then a year later they're back."

"It could mean something," Ryou said, "But then again, it could just be that they're timing this out a certain way."

"Why would they do that?" Minto asked.

"I'm not sure," Ryou said.

"Perhaps so you would think they had no other plans," Pai suggested, "or they could possibly not even realize the timing themselves."

"All of that is possible," Keiichiro said, "But we're still not sure as to weather or not it's is actually them, for all we know it is just similar people."

Berry shook her head, "I doubt that, I don't know why, you could be right, but I just don't think there's anyone else in the world that can do what they do."

"What can they do?" Tart asked.

"Happy Child can send out super sonic waves, na no da!" Purin said.

"Blue Bayou has superhuman strength," Ryou said.

"Royal Highness seems to be something like a vampire," Berry said, a shiver running down her spine at remembering the rather close encounter she had had with him. "He's also a psychic."

"And that Juliet person," Tasuku said, "she can shut off her hearing when she doesn't understand something."

"I'm not sure if that's all she could do," Berry said, "Sweet Juliet seemed to be able to do more."

"Either way, they're back and we have to fight them," Ryou said, "and now the question comes down to how."

"What did they do the first time they attacked?" Pai asked.

"Sent out subliminal messages in the airwaves," Ryou said, "setting them in every few screens in TV shows and movies and things like that."

"Do you think they'd attack in a similar way?" Tart asked.

Keiichiro shook his head, "I doubt it, if it didn't work the first time then why would it work the second?"

"Keiichiro has a point," Pai said, "if we were to try taking over earth again, not saying that we would, I wouldn't want to use the same method as our first attempt."

"Who exactly are the Saint Rose Crusaders?" Kish asked. "You told us what they can do, but what about their names?"

"Well," Berry said, "We're not sure if they _have_ names, they've only ever gone by the names Duke gave them so-"

"Who's Duke?" Tart asked, interrupting.

"Their leader," Minto answered, "It was this person wearing this weird white costume, though I'm not sure weather it was a guy or a girl."

"There was this one time," Berry said, remembering her day at school when Royal Highness was posing as a lecturer, "He came to my school and said his name was Yuzen Akizuki, do you think that could have been his real name?"

"Maybe," Ryou said, "but I think we should focus more on why they're even attacking again."

"They just disappeared after their first attempt, na no da!" Purin said, "we didn't hear anything about 'em after that, na no da!"

"Who knows," Zakuro said, "They could have been planning this from the beginning."

* * *

"Ichigo!" Sakura called up the stairs for her daughter. "It's time to get up; you're going to be late for school!"

Ichigo mumbled something incoherent into her pillow and rolled over, but not a few seconds later was her blanket yanked off of her. Her eyes shot open wide and a shiver ran all through her at the sudden cold air.

"Wake up, wake up!" Berry's voice chirped. Ichigo watched as the blonde walked over to her window and drew the curtains open. "It's a beautiful autumn day!"

"How can you be such a morning person?" Ichigo asked with a yawn as she stretched in a very cat-like manor. Berry was already up and in her school uniform and Ichigo hadn't even gotten out of bed yet.

Berry spun around and beamed a smile at her with a wink, "Rabbits like the mornings!"

"Rabbits…like mornings?" Ichigo looked quite confused, "what do rabbits have anything to do with you being a morning person?"

"Um…" Berry kept the smiled but looked at a loss, "w-well, nothing…I guess, but um…get up sleepy head!" She swung her arms into the air and grinned.

Ichigo just stared at her, wondering if the girl was okay, but decided not to ask and got up, lazily taking her uniform off the back of her desk chair and walking out to the bathroom down the hall.

Once she was gone, Berry let out a sigh. "That was close." She mumbled.

Ichigo got back to her room, all dressed up in her uniform, and walked up to Berry. "Ready to go?"

"One sec." Berry reached up and adjusted Ichigo's hat. "Okay, let's go!" Ichigo giggled and followed her out.

They just barely made the bell when they slid into class, panting, and sat in their seats.

"Nice to see you two finally made it." Minto said. "You're lucky Hana-sensei isn't here yet."

"Where is she?" Berry asked.

"I don't know," Minto said, "she's just not here."

Ichigo sighed and sank onto her desk, laying her head down for a few precious moments until the classroom door slid open and in walked the teacher. Her grayed hair was up in its usual bun, tied back with two chopsticks, and was carrying some papers.

She scanned over the papers once before setting them on her desk and saying, "Class, I'd like to introduce a new student, her name is Satou Amai, and she will be joining us this year."

A girl walked in, her hair was long, reaching her waist, and as white as the finest sugar, and her eyes were eyes were pastel blue. "Hello," She said, her was voice soft and sweet sounding, "I hope we can have a wonderful semester together."

"Ms. Amai, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?" The teacher said.

"Very well," Satou said, "I love acting, and dressing up in costumes, masquerades are fun, too. Oh, and I _love_ roses." She smiled sweetly at the class.

"Thank you, Ms. Amai, now please take your seat," Hana-sensei said, "There's an open one right behind Ms. Momomiya."

Satou kept her sweet smile as she walked past Ichigo and Minto's desks and sat in the one behind Ichigo. Berry looked over her shoulder at her just in time to see her give Ichigo's back a rather ill-intentioned looking smirk.

Through the rest of their classes, Satou seemed to be in all either Ichigo's, Berry's, Minto's, and when they walked the halls she was always skipping along with one of them, which Minto found unbearably annoying. For lunch, the girls all met up in the backyard of the school, sitting under the shade of a tree as they ate their lunches and talked.

"We have a new student!" Ichigo said happily, "She seems pretty nice, I'd like to get to know her better!"

Minto shook her head, "I don't like the looks of her."

"Why not?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, why wouldn't you like me?" A new voice said, "You hardly know me." All six looked up to see Satou Amai sitting in the tree above them.

"Satou, why don't you have lunch with us?" Ichigo asked.

Satou smirked and slipped down from the tree gracefully, "I'd love to, so long as your friends don't mind."

"I'd rather you d-" Minto was cut off by a soft nudge in the ribs from Ichigo.

"It's fine!" She said.

"I don't mind," Retasu said, "you seem perfectly nice to me."

Satou smiled and sat down next to Zakuro, who gave her a hard stare out of the corner of her eyes that she seemed to either not notice or ignore, "Thank you." She took out a small, brown paper bag from her skirt pocket and took out of it a sandwich.

"Tar-Tar said he would help Purin with her siblings today, na no da!" Purin announced.

"The poor thing," Minto said.

"Who's Tar-Tar?" Satou asked.

"Purin's friend," Ichigo said, "his name is actually Tart but Purin calls him Tar-Tar."

"Hm." Satou looked away, as though deep in thought about this.

After school, as usual, Kish and Tasuku showed up to walk the girls home, though Satou seemed to think that she could tag along with no permission needed.

"I just love autumn!" She said, sighing dreamily with a girlish giggle.

"Who's your new friend?" Kish whispered into Ichigo's ear, "She's kind of annoying." He watched as the girl spun around, swinging her school briefcase around, and smiling as they walked.

"Her name is Satou Amai," Ichigo whispered back, "She's a new student at school."

"That still doesn't explain why she's so annoying," Kish whispered.

"Kish, don't be mean." Ichigo gave him a playful nudge in the side.

"Right here." Satou suddenly halted to a stop in front of a small, one-story house, almost causing Retasu to crash into her.

"You live here?" Minto asked with a hint of distaste in her voice.

"No, over there." Satou pointed to the end of the block at a large mansion, though it looked a little dark and creepy compared to her overly-happy and smiling demeanor.

"Oh…" Minto stared at it. The place wasn't rotting or anything, but it was surrounded by a tall, wrought-iron gate that had spikes on the tips and a large padlock chained to the front gate. There were a few willow trees around the house, casting long, dark shadows over the property, and the house itself was painted in a soft, dark brick red with a black slate roof, and black shutters on the windows.

"Would you like to come in for some tea?" Satou asked with a twinkle in her eyes that the mews did not like. Well, Ichigo didn't seem to really notice as she was staring wide-eyed at the mansion.

"No." Berry said. Satou looked a bit startled by the sternness of her tone. "We have to get to out part-time jobs." Berry explained quickly

"Ah, I see." Satou said, "Well then, thank you for walking me to my home; I look forward to see you all tomorrow. Bai bai!" She waved as she skipped off to her mansion, smiling as always.

"Creepy house." Tasuku said.

"I afraid I must agree…" Retasu said.

"I don't like her." Zakuro said with a cold glare fixed on the blue eyed girl.

Satou skipped all the way up the broken stone pathway and in through the front door. Once she was in and had closed the door behind her, she sighed, dropping the smiling façade, and pulled the white hair off her head, revealing short brown hair.

"Wigs can get so hot." She said quietly. She walked through the wide front room of the house and rounded a corner, walking into the sitting room where she found a guy a sitting on a Victorian style couch in front of the large fireplace, the flames casting an orange glow over most of the dark room.

"Royal Highness," She said, standing in the doorway.

"Sweet Juliet, you're home." Royal Highness said, keeping his gaze on the fire. "Learn anything interesting today?"

"The little monkey girl has a boyfriend," She said, walking over to sit next to him.

Royal Highness smirked, "Nice to know we'll have some bait."

"Mew Ichigo…" Sweet Juliet said, fiddling with her wig in her lap, "something's up with her."

"She's lost her memory, we told you this," Royal Highness said.

"Right," Sweet Juliet said, "how did that happen again?"

Royal Highness sighed with annoyance, "A Chimera Anima attack sent her through a window. Do you _ever_ listen?"

"I do." She said. "Oh, and she has a boyfriend."

"Yes, I know, that Aoyoma-" He stopped short when Juliet shook her head.

"Not him, it's a new one." She said.

Highness looked at her, "Who is he?"

"I don't know," Juliet said, "My guess is no one of importance."

"Hm, I'll send someone to check him out." Royal Highness said.

"Are we targeting the pink one this time?" Juliet asked.

"She is the most vulnerable of them all." Royal Highness said, looking back to the fire.

* * *

_Bang! Crash! Thud!_

"It needs another egg, na no da!"

"No!"

"Give Purin the egg!"

"No! You've already put eleven of them in there!"

"Give. Purin. The egg, na no da!"

"Bad monkey! No banana!"

She gasped, "But- but…!"

Ryou walked into the kitchen to see what all the noise was about, Keiichiro behind him, and found Kish sitting on the floor, Purin in his lap, him holding the egg high above her head and trying to hold her down as she struggled to reach it.

"It needs another egg, na no da!" Purin said.

"Carrot cake does not need twelve eggs!" Kish said, "No cake needs that many eggs!"

"Um, what's going on in here?" Ryou asked.

They both stopped, looking at them. Then Purin jumped up, snatching the egg, and ran over to crack it into the bowl of batter sitting on the counter. "Kish-oneechan is not from earth, na no da; he knows nothing about cake, na no da." She stated.

"I read the recipe." Kish grumbled, standing up. "It only calls for two."

"Let me see, please," Keiichiro said. Kish slid the recipe off the island counter and handed it to him. "Purin-chan, Kish-san is right, you only need two eggs, not a whole carton."

"Oops." Purin said, looking into the glass mixing bowl that she'd cracked exactly one dozen eggs into.

"Why are you two trying to bake anyway?" Ryou asked.

"I asked them to," Keiichiro said, "it's a new recipe I wanted to try, but I've been so busy with other things, I haven't been able to, so I asked Kish-san and Purin-chan to try making it."

"Why in the world," Ryou said, "did you ask an alien who knows nothing about earth food and a monkey brained brat to use an oven?"

"Now Ryou-san," Keiichiro said, "Just because Kish-san isn't from earth doesn't mean he doesn't know anything," Kish snorted with a curt nod to confirm this, "and if Purin-chan is capable of saving the world, I think she can handle using an oven."

"Purin cooks for her siblings at home all the time, na no da!" Purin said.

"Then why did you think carrot cake needed twelve eggs?" Kish asked.

"Purin said she cooks, not bakes, na no da." Purin said, holding a finger up with her other hand behind her back.

"Well, I guess you'll have to throw this away, you won't be able to use it," Keiichiro said, "And while I clean the dishes you two can retry this, okay?"

"Okay!" Purin said.

"Just wait a minute and I'll clean the bowl," Keiichiro said.

Berry rollerbladed into the kitchen, "The deliveries are done!"

"Kish-oneechan and Purin are making a carrot cake, na no da!" Purin announced.

"Berry could you-" Ryou was cut off by Ucha popping up from having been posing as Berry's cell phone charm.

"Chimera Anima in the park! Move it, move it!" He exclaimed.

"Go! We'll take care of everything here!" Ryou said.

Berry, Purin, and Kish ran out, passing the other mews and, with Berry only sending a quick glance at them, they ran out as well, excusing themselves from the customers and apologizing. Once they were out they each took their pendants out from their apron pockets.

"MEW MEW BERRY! METAMORPHOSIS!"

"MEW MEW MINT! METAMORPHOSIS!"

"MEW MEW LETTUCE! METAMORPHOSIS!"

"MEW MEW PUDDING! METAMORPHOSIS!"

"MEW MEW ZAKURO! METAMORPHOSIS!"

They each glowed their own signature colors and when the glows faded, they were in mew form, racing for the park, Kish running with them.

"Can't you teleport us there?" Berry asked Kish as they ran.

"Five people?!" Kish looked at her like she was crazy, "its hard enough teleporting with only one person!"

"Then go ahead of us and see what's happening!" Berry said. In an instant Kish was gone.

He reappeared at the entrance of park and the first thing he saw was a large Chimera Anima that looked like a dragon, it seemed to glow orange and had sharp, snake-like yellow eyes, with spikes trailing down its back and it's tail was tipped off with fire.

He summoned his tonfas and flew at the Anima, hitting first in the face with and then smacking it upside the head going in the other direction which seemed to make it dizzy.

"Ku Rai Sen!" Kish jolted out of the way just in time to miss getting hit by a bolt of lightning.

"That almost hit me!" He shouted over to Pai, who was now floating a several feet away with Tart.

"Sorry." He said, flying up to him.

"Where have you been anyway?" Kish asked, dodging a swing of the Chimera's tail.

"I've nothing better to do on earth than- Fuu Rai Sen!" He shot off another lightning bolt, "than to research it and Tart has been with the Mew Purin."

Sitting on a tree branch, not to far away from the fight, was a little blonde boy holding a white mask. "Hm, so those aliens are back." He said. He sighed, "I guess we'll just have to take care of them, too."

With a small grunt, Tart swung his click-clack weapon at the Anima has hard and fast as he could, though being only small red balls on a string, it didn't do very much.

"RIBBON…MINT ECHO!" The little blonde boy looked up to see that the mew mews had arrived.

"RIBBON…LETTUCE RUSH!"

"RIBBON…LOVEBERRY CHECK!" White, blue, and green blasts shot at the Anima, hitting it but not destroying it.

Berry looked at Zakuro and after a moment, the purple mew took off into the trees, jumping skillfully from branch to branch through the forest, looking for at least one of the Saint Rose Crusaders. She was stopped dead in her tracks when she came to clearing; standing in the center of it was Happy Child.

* * *

_Hey! Let's hang out, meet me at that park?_

That was the text message Satou had sent her not ten minutes ago, so Ichigo was walking to the park, still in her school uniform, to meet her there. She stared up at the sky, twisting the strap of her black cat-shaped backpack in her hands, wondering why Satou had sent her the sudden message just after she'd gotten home from school and hoping that she didn't want to hang out for to long, or else she'd be late for her job. Actually, now that Ichigo thought about it, how did she even get her number? She sighed and shook her head, it didn't matter, she probably got it from the school directory or something, and she could probably use a friend that goes to her school. Ichigo smiled, adding a small skip to her step, at the thought that she would get to be that friend.

* * *

Me: I think I might have gone to fast with that chapter, but I tried rewriting it and couldn't think of a better way to do it.... I think-hope-it came out okay! Please review to let me know your opinion! And for anyone reading this that has not read the manga, in the anime Kish has sais(his Dragon Swords), but in the manga he has tonfas, and Tart has this dagger thing that looks like a wooden stake but I just gave him his click-clacks instead even though this story is supposed to be going off the manga, not the anime but...oh well!

Satou: Sugar  
Amai: Sweet

Kish: Ichigo can't go to the park! We're fighting there!

Me: *laughs nervously* Really? I...I hadn't noticed.

Kish: Hadn't noticed my _foot_! You're the one writing this!


	20. Kidnap

Me: I has new chapter...^^ Just so people know, I'm just guessing with the Saint Rose Crusaders' hair and eye colors, because theres no pictures of them that are colored in so...yeah.

Thanks for Reading:  
**NikkiNya6**

**Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew!**

* * *

He smirked, his platinum blonde hair blowing gently in the wind, as he held his masquerade mask up to his face. "Mew Zakuro," He hissed, "nice to see you again."

"What's this about?" Zakuro demanded, "You left earth alone for a year, why try again?"

"Try what again?" He asked innocently, "we're not using subliminal messages, if that's what you're wondering. Heh," He smirked devilishly, "why would we try again what failed?"

Zakuro summoned her weapon and prepared it, "RIBBON…ZAKURO SPEAR!" Her whip of light tore through the ground, missing Happy Child as he had disappeared.

"Run, run, run, as fast as you can!" His young voice echoed through the forest, and even with Zakuro's wolf hearing she still couldn't figure out where he was. "You can't catch me, I'm the Happy Child!" He laughed, and Zakuro looked around for him, annoyance and anger increasing in her.

"Ah!" She fell to her knees, hands clamped over her wolf ears, as a high-pitched ringing sounded, echoing through her ears.

"Come on!" Happy Child was now right behind her, floating in the air, and smirking down at her, "Get up and play with me, you savage wolf!"

Zakuro jumped to her feet, despite the pain in her ears from the noise, and struck him with her whip, wrapping it around his ankle.

"Ah, hey!" Happy Child struggled to break free, but to no avail. His little foot was caught and he couldn't go anywhere.

"Stop…the noise." Zakuro ordered. At once, the high-pitched ringing stopped, and the frightened Child she had caught stared at her, wondering what she would do to him.

"W-what are you going to do?" Happy Child asked, a slight quiver in his voice.

With a sharp jerk, she spun Happy Child towards her, wrapping him further in the light whip, and grabbed the back of his costume. "I'll be taking you to the other mews." She heard a small whimper come from the boy but ignored it.

She leapt through the trees once again, heading back towards the park with her catch in hand.

---

"RIBBON…LOVEBERRY CHECK!"

Ichigo stopped in her tracks at the entrance of the park, staring wide-eyed at the fight going on between Tokyo Mew Mew and the strange creature that they were attacking. She took in a shaky breath, now worried about where Satou was, because she couldn't see and she had said to meet her there.

She ran into the park, nearing the creature and the mews, but she still couldn't see Satou. Where was she?

Kish glanced at the running figure on the ground, and then looked again, and his fear was confirmed; Ichigo was there. What was she doing? Was she crazy? He looked to the fighting mews to see if one of them could stop battling and get Ichigo out of the way instead.

"Retasu!" He shouted down to the girl. She looked up at him, "get her out of the way!"

Retasu gasped when she saw Ichigo frantically looking around for something, "Ichigo-san!" She yelled, running over and tackling the girl out of the way just in time to miss getting hit by the fiery breath of the Chimera Anima. They rolled; Retasu's back slamming into a tree.

"Ow…" She mumbled, slowly sitting up as Ichigo scrambled to her feet.

"Satou!" She exclaimed, turning to Retasu, "Er, Mew Mew, have you seen a girl around here with white hair and blue eyes?"

Retasu looked up at her, confused as to whom she could be talking about. "No, I'm sorry, I haven't."

Ichigo began to look very worried, "She told me to meet her here, but I don't see her anywhere."

Retasu sat up, gently grabbing Ichigo's elbow so she couldn't run off anywhere, "What's her name?"

"Satou," Ichigo said, "Satou Amai."

Retasu let out a silent gasp and nearly let go of Ichigo's arm, "Oh, I'm sure she's evacuated the park by now!" Retasu laughed nervously with a small wave of her hand.

"Fuu Rei San!" They both heard Pai shooting off an attack and Ichigo made to turn around.

Retasu, before she could, grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face her with a sharp jerk. The last thing any of them wanted was for her to see Kish flying in mid air with Sais, swinging at some giant creature.

"What…?" Ichigo trailed off.

"S-stay…here!" Retasu hurriedly stuffed her behind a tree, "and- and don't peek!"

"Um…okay…" Ichigo said, confused.

"RIBBON…LOVEBERRY CHECK!"

"RIBBON…MINT ECHO!"

Ichigo sat behind the tree, trying not to look out at the battle like the green mew had said, but it was so tempting to just a peek. One peek…one quick peek…it couldn't hurt, right? She slowly craned her neck to look over her shoulder, but just before she could see anything-

"Ichigo?"

She quickly looked back in front of her and saw the purple mew, holding a small boy dressed up like a jester.

Zakuro looked out at the fight and set Happy Child next to Ichigo, "watch him, do not let him go anywhere."

"Uh, h-hai!" Ichigo looked down at him as he stared up at the mew in question and slight fear, though it was obvious he was trying to hide it.

Zakuro took her whip off the boy and he immediately tried to run for it, but Ichigo caught him and kept him in place. He glared at her, trying to shrug off her hands that were gripping his shoulders but she refused to let go.

"ZAKURO SPEAR!" Zakuro yelled her attack, running strait into the fight with the Chimera Anima.

"So," Happy Child said, giving up on trying to break free, "you're really the strongest of 'em, huh?"

"What?" Ichigo looked down at him, confused.

He sighed and shook his head, "never mind."

Kish had seen Retasu tuck Ichigo behind the tree, he had seen Zakuro leave her with the little boy and then run at the Chimera Anima, and he could guess what would happen, no matter how much he prayed it not to. Ichigo was Ichigo, and that meant a rather high risk of her trying to sneak a look at the fight, even with having the watch Happy Child, and that would be bad if she should happen to see him. Something was bound to happen if she did, especially if just putting on a waitress uniform brought a wave of memories, what would happen if she saw him with his swords? And his ears…this was not a good place for her to be. He kept glancing over at her tree, making sure she was keeping her eyes on the kid rather than the fight, which she was and that was good, but it looked like her and Happy Child were talking, which wasn't. What if he told her about her being a mew mew? Kish shook his head and tried to concentrate more on the fight, there were to many 'what if's about everything running around his head.

"RIBBON…LETTUCE RUSH!"

"RIBBON…PUDDING RING INFERNO!"

"RIBBON…MINT ECHO!"

"Fuu Rei San-" Pai's attack was blocked by a tall boy wearing black vest over a white button-up shirt, and black pants. He held his left arm up in front of his face and it was grazed from Pai's attack. He lowered his arm and smirked at them.

"Sorry," He said, "But I can't let you kill this guy."

"Who are you?" Kish asked, narrowing his eyes at him.

"The name's Blue Bayou," He said, "I'm guess you're one of the aliens, right?"

"And?" Kish said.

"Heh, you don't look as weird as I thought you would!" Blue Bayou said.

"Pfft, _you're_ the one that looks weird!" Kish said.

"Kish, this is no time to be immature." Pai said.

"He's right, you know," Blue Bayou said, "I've got a deal to make with you."

"What?" Berry asked warily.

Blue Bayou jutted his thumb towards the trees, where Ichigo was hiding with Happy Child, "You stay out of our way and we'll give you the girl back."

Kish looked over to Ichigo, she was being held up by the back of school uniform shirt by Your Highness, kicking to get free, her arms wrapped around Happy Child and still holding him, though the kid's accomplices didn't seem to care that she had him.

"Let her go!" He exclaimed, glaring down at Blue Bayou.

"It that an agreement, then?" Blue Bayou asked.

"No!" Berry said, gripping her weapon tightly.

Kish looked at her, "What?!"

"We won't stop fighting you!" Berry said. "We'll fight to save the earth no matter what!"

Blue Bayou smiled evilly, "Then she stays with us."

"No!" Kish shouted, darting towards him, but they had already vanished in the blink of an eye. Berry gasped; she hadn't expected them to just leave.

The aliens landed on the ground, Kish gripping his swords to tight his knuckles were turning white, he turned and glared at Berry, "You-…how could you-…"

"Kish," Pai said, "We'll get her-" He stopped short when Kish threw his dagger at Berry, narrowly missing her and slicing into the ground with solid _chink!_ at her feet, causing her flinch and take a cautionary step back, after that he teleported away.

Tart picked up the sword he left behind, "You shouldn't make decisions like that on you own…" He mumbled.

"Now what?" Minto asked coldly, crossing her arms over her chest and turning to Berry. No one was too happy about what she just did, and the life it might cost.

"I…I think we should talk to Ryou…" Berry said.

---

Ichigo groaned, arching her back off the solid metal flooring beneath her. Through whatever had happened, at some point she had been knocked out, though she couldn't tell what with, the only thing that hurt was her backside from the floor. She rolled onto her side and blinked her eyes open. It looked as though she was in a giant birdcage. The room around her was a little hard to make out, since the only lighting came from the large fireplace at the other end of the room. The flooring outside of the birdcage was a dark polished wood it looked like, with a Persian rug over it, the only furniture that she could see was an old, Victorian looking couch in front of the fire place, and a coat rack near the wide entryway. It was to dark to make out the walls, but around the fireplace it looked like there was a deep, soft red paint.

"Hey! It's finally awake!" She heard a childish voice say.

Looking at a small figure peering over the back of the couch she saw the little boy she'd been told to watch by the purple mew. Was he the one behind that creature in the park?

"Finally," Another voice said. She looked to the entryway and saw a man wearing old-style clothes and a masquerade mask, "I've been waiting to speak to you."

Slowly, Ichigo sat up. "Ugh…where am I?"

"I think the better question, Mew Ichigo, would be 'who am I?'" The man said.

"Mew…? What are talking about?" Ichigo asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Your Highness," He said, "and you are currently in my mansion, previously owned by Duke but, hm, we've discovered we don't need him anymore."

"Who…?" Ichigo asked.

You Highness sighed and shook his head, "That's not important right now. What is is that I get a little sample of something from you."

"A sample of what?" Ichigo asked, looking worried.

Your Highness smiled, "Your blood."

"M-my blood?" Ichigo said shakily.

---

"Where's Kish?" Ryou asked once everyone had gotten back to Café Mew Mew.

"Gone." Pai said.

"Gone? What do you mean _gone_?" Ryou asked, "Where'd he go?"

"We don't know," Pai said, "but apparently your new leader-" He eyed Berry almost accusingly, "seems to have thought it a good idea to let he enemy take Ichigo, rather than try fighting them."

"What?" Ryou looked to Berry who sat at a table, keeping her head down. "Berry, what'd you do?"

Tasuku put his hand on hers, "Berry, did something happen?"

"They said it was either her or the world!" Berry said rather loudly, "I didn't know they would just take her and disappear like that!"

"Disappear?" Ryou said, "What the heck happened out there?"

"Some guy named Blue Bayou showed up and then this other guy had Ichigo," Tart said, "they disappeared with her."

"I told Ichigo to watch Happy Child," Zakuro said, "perhaps he contacted them in some way."

"So…let me get this strait," Ryou said, "Ichigo is now kidnapped by the enemy, most of her memory still gone, and we don't even know what they want with her?"

"What are we going to tell her parents?" Retasu asked worriedly.

"We'll wait for a while," Keiichiro said, "until we know a bit more about what's going on; how long they might be keeping Ichigo, what they might…" He took in a breath, "what they might do to her, we don't know so we really should wait fore more information, but if the time becomes to long, then I suppose we will have to tell them that their daughter has been kidnapped."

"That'll be awkward…" Minto said.

"I'm afraid there's not much else we can do…" Keiichiro said.

"So, what about Kish?" Tasuku asked, "What's up with him? He didn't come back with everyone."

"After Berry said we wouldn't stand back," Pai said, "The Saint Rose Crusaders disappeared with her, and then Kish, after throwing a sword at Berry, disappeared himself."

"He threw his sword at Berry?!" Tasuku exclaimed, he looked down at the white mew, "he didn't hit you did he? Are you okay?"

Before Berry could answer, Pai spoke up first, "He deliberately missed her, the aim was only to show her that he was angry. We've no idea where Kish could have gone, for all we know he could be miles away, in a different country, or possibly somewhere close by."

"Purin misses Ichigo-oneechan, na no da." Purin said.

"We all do." Zakuro said quietly.

Kish wasn't in a different country, but he was quite a bit of ways away from Café Mew Mew, sitting in the middle of the floor of some abandoned building, from the looks of the inside of it he guessed it to be an old dance studio, or maybe a gym of some sort. The floor was made of a hard wood, dusty though it was it looked like light colored wood, on one wall, the one in front of him, there were mirrors all along it, covering it, metal bars running across them, the wall behind him not much different only without the mirrors, the wall to his left had about four or five windows lined on it, he didn't care enough to count them, and the wall to his right had two doors on it. One leading to a cramped and cluttered closet, the door held open by a large stone, and the door leading out was broken off the hinges.

Why he was there? He was wondering that himself, he had found it some time ago when he was trying to take over earth, and he only ever went there when he was upset. There was just something about the lonely, abandoned feeling of the place that made him feel…less unwanted by everyone, at least that's how it went when he'd go there after being reject by Ichigo. The place had definitely seen better days, had better care, it made him wonder what used to go on the old building.

He sighed, leaning his elbows on his knees as he sat there. He thought back to when he threw his sword at Berry, how she flinched back, startled, but did she really not expect him to be pissed after she just so willingly let them take Ichigo? His Ichigo…he would get her back, and everything would be fine, they would live through it just like they always did. His only question was where they were hiding out, where they were keeping her. It had to be some place secretive, secluded, and isolated…or maybe…he had heard that that Satou girl had asked Ichigo to go the park, was it really just a coincidence that they were fighting there when she did, and that she never showed? He narrowed his eyes at the floor; he thought he knew who might be behind that little stunt.

He stood, he would have to go back to the mews and his friends at some point, "_Tart or Pai probably got my other sword…_" He thought idly as he floated into the air, preparing to teleport. He knew one of the two would have gotten it, they used to be his fathers, there was no chance they'd have just left it behind, even if it wasn't a family treasure.

He teleported, reappearing just outside the large, double pink doors of Café Mew Mew. He took in a breath and pushed through one with one hand, keeping his head lowered so he wouldn't have to face them as soon as he entered the doors.

"Kish…" He heard Tart mumble.

Kish ran a hand through his hair, looking up at everyone, but purposefully avoiding Berry's gaze. "Hey," He said, "I'm back."

"We see that," Pai said, "Where were you?"

Kish shrugged, "Just…out."

"Hm, well, we've been discussing Ichigo-"

"What about her?" Kish asked, cutting him off, "have you found out anything?"

"Kish, it hasn't even been an hour," Pai said, "give it time."

"Time." Kish spat, glaring at the floor, "it always takes time."

"Of course it does," Pai said, "it's the only way things work, have patience and we will find her and she will return safely." Kish looked up at him, after a moment he nodded.

"That was still no need to throw a dagger at Berry." Tasuku stated.

Kish over at the two, "Sorry…" He mumbled, though it was more to Tasuku than it was to Berry, he wasn't sure how long it would be until he really did forgive her. "So…whatever happened to that Satou girl Ichigo was waiting for?"

"You mean Satou Amai?" Retasu said, "She never showed up."

"That's what I thought," Kish said, "I think…she might have something to do with the Saint Rose Crusaders."

Ryou sighed, "Kish, just because there was the coincidence that she asked Ichigo to-"

"I don't think it was just a coincidence," Kish cut him off; "I think there is a connection. Why else would she have just showed up right after we found out about them and hung around the mews? Or asked Ichigo to the park right when we were in the middle of fighting and the not showed up? Or-"

"Alright, we get it," Ryou said, "We'll look in to it, but for now just…try to relax." With that, he turned and walked up the stairs, heading for his room.

Keiichiro sighed, "Why don't you all go home for the rest of the day? We'll close the café and you can all take a rest."

Purin shook her head violently, "Purin wants to stay with her Oneechan's and Oniichan's, na no da!"

"I…I would like to stay with everyone as well." Retasu said.

"I'm not leaving." Zakuro said.

"A-alright, if that's what everyone wants." Keiichiro said, "I guess I'll just…go bake something." He walked into the kitchen.

---

"What do you mean you want my blood?" Ichigo asked, pressing her back to the metal bars of her cage, making herself as small and insignificant as she could.

Royal Highness smiled at her, "why, if you simply must know, we need it for tests. You, little kitty, get to be our…hm, Guiney pig."

"F-for what…?" Ichigo asked, her breath shaky.

"You're quite the special girl, you know," Royal Highness said, kneeling down in front of her cage's door. "And we need you for something rather important."

"Er…take me to your leader!" Ichigo exclaimed. She felt stupid as all heck as soon as the words left her lips, it had sounded better in her head. She had thought that maybe, should luck have it, they were aliens and she could get out of this mess like they do in the movies…but she guessed not at the confused look Royal Highness was giving her.

"Take you…to our leader?" He repeated, then laughed, "Duke isn't with us anymore, we don't need him!"

"Who's Duke?" Ichigo asked.

Ignoring her, Royal Highness went on, "I'm the leader of this operation now, what I say goes, so consider your wish granted."

"You…leader?" Ichigo said, "But you're like, what? Sixteen?"

"Nineteen, thank you," Royal Highness growled.

"Still how can someone who's only nineteen try taking over the world?" Ichigo asked.

"Those aliens were younger, if I do recall correctly." Royal Highness said.

"Aliens…?"

Royal Highness sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Look, you remember back when the mews first appeared, right?" Ichigo gave him a blank look, "Well, they were fighting aliens. They beat them, they left, no one saw the mews again until-"

"Oh yeah!" Ichigo said, interrupting, "I remember hearing about them when I was in…England…I don't remember being in England."

"How do you remember but not remember at the same time?" Happy Child asked, still on the couch.

"Um…I don't know," Ichigo said, "I just know I was there at one point."

"That's not important," Royal Highness said, sounding rather irritated.

"It's ready." All three looked and saw Sweet Juliet standing in the entryway.

"Thank you, Sweet Juliet," Royal Highness said, he turned back to Ichigo, "I guess our little chat is over, time for some fun."

"F-fun?" Ichigo asked as Royal Highness unlocked the door of her cage.

"You know," Sweet Juliet said, "I find it a bit odd that you have a cat locked in a bird cage."

Royal Highness ignored both girls, reaching in and grabbing Ichigo by the front of her school uniform's shirt, "Lets go, little kitty."

Ichigo whimpered as he pulled her out, towing her along as he walked out of the room and down a long hallway, passing a large staircase. When she looked behind she saw that Sweet Juliet and Happy Child hadn't followed.

"Um…w-where are we going?" She asked, her voice just barely above a whisper.

"You'll see." Royal Highness said. He opened a door at the end of the hall and they started down it.

"What are you going to do?" Ichigo asked. She was a little louder this time, but shaky.

Royal Highness smirked, "I suppose it's only fair that you know. Alright, I'll tell; I am going to bring out your Irimote Wildcat genes, seeing as they've been hiding for so long with your memory gone, and I'm going to conduct a few…experiments.

"First, I'm going to see if I can get you to transform, then if I can't guess -which I'm guessing is more likely-, then I'll try infusing you again, see what else I can do with you, who knows, perhaps you're good for another animal, like Mew Berry."

"What are talking about?" Ichigo asked, "I'm no mew mew, I never have been and I never-"

"What do you know?" Royal Highness said, "Nothing, for all you _do_ know, you could very well have been one of the aliens attacking earth those two years ago, or, like your little friends tell you, you've always just been a nobody."

Ichigo fell silent, realizing that he was right. She could have been anything in the past time, and no one was telling her. Just like no one had told her about Kish, Pai, and Tart, or that Kish was in love with her or anything about them. What could have been so secret about them that they couldn't tell her?

They came to the end of the long, spiraling staircase, finding themselves in a large basement, high-tech computers to their right, a hospital bed against the farthest wall, and some machine that looked like one of those human dartboards, where you strap the person to it, only there was no back and it was made completely out of metal, with wires wrapped all around the frame.

"You, dear Ichigo, get to be the honorable test subject for our first ever DNA experiment." Royal Highness said.

* * *

Me: Dun dun dun! What experiments is he going to do?! Also so people know, I'm fairly positive that Duke is a guy, even though he looks like a girl, because of this picture that I found where he's wearing guys clothes and if he was a girl then he'd be really, _really_ flat chested. And I don't hate Berry, even though I made her make that stupid mistake, I just have a weird habbit of being kind of mean to my favorite characters...

Kish: I'm going to kill you.

Me: See? Read and Review please! I know, you're probably getting annoyed of the cliffhangers by now, huh? I'm sorry! ;.; But please review anyway, they make me feel all warm and giggly!


	21. To Many, To Much

Me: Dear God this took forever! I'm so sorry! I had to rewrite it about three times and just...yeah. So, I worked really hard on this chapter, and it came to about sixteen pages long. I really hope everyone likes it! Again, terribly sorry for the long wait.

Thanks for Reading:  
**  
Mew Maria  
Rizu Neko-Chan** -Yay! I'm not the only one! XD-  
**Lonely Little Sparrow-chan**

**Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew.**

* * *

Ichigo was sitting on a bed that you would normally find in a hospital. Why? She didn't know, but she was. Royal Highness had made her get up on it and sit and wait until was done with whatever it was that he was doing. She now had a small Band-Air on her arm, near her shoulder, where Royal Highness had taken a sample of her blood. She was convinced he did something to the needle because it hurt like all heck, and she had gotten shots from the doctor that didn't hurt nearly as much.

"Hmm," She'd hear from Royal Highness every once in a while, or a "oh," and sometimes a "hmph." But that was all he said as far as noise went for the past hour and a half. What was he doing? What did he want from her?

Finally, he turned and leaned back on the computer desk, holding up the same needle he'd taken her blood with, "This," He said, "is going to have to wait, I can do more research while conducting the first experiment on you. Off the table! Now!"

Hastily Ichigo hopped off the table and stood there, awaiting her next command. Royal Highness set the needle down and grabbed her by the arm, leading her over to the backless, metal human dart board with the wires all twined around it. When he made to strap her up on it, she tried to take a step back, whimpering quietly like a scared kitten.

"Come on, now!" He said, "If you don't cooperate, bad things will happen!"

Not wanting to even guess what those things were, Ichigo let him strap her to the metal machine without a struggle. She knew it was probably stupid to just let him after a single threat, but what if he did something to one of her friends of family? She couldn't let that happen, no matter what it meant for her.

"What are you doing to do?" Ichigo asked, the words tumbling out of her mouth at a fast pace. It seemed to be the only way she could get the words out.

Royal Highness paused for a moment, taking a bit to register what she had just, "I am running a test, now be quiet."

"But…what?" Ichigo asked, her voice ending in a desperate gasp.

Royal Highness sighed, "First I'm going to see if you can transform, though I doubt it will work with your powers being dormant, and then, if it really doesn't, I'm going to see if you can be infused with any other animals. You're supposed to be the strongest mew after all, so if Berry can handle it, I'm sure you can as well."

He strapped her up to the machine by her wrists and ankles, slipping off the socks and shoes of her school uniform after. He went back over to his computer and pressed a few buttons that were off to the side, one was red and the other was blue, a green one in-between them, and flipped a switch.

The machine came to life, the wires around it glowing their own colors, red and blue and green and yellow, and making a whirring sort of sound. It felt like waves pulsing through her, though she could hear the sounds of electricity in the waves, but couldn't feel it. It was weird, and she didn't like the feeling. What was it doing to her anyway?

"Do you remember the first time you met Ryou Shirogane?" Royal Highness asked.

"No- ah" Ichigo gasped, a strange scene playing in her mind.

_They were up in a tree, her and a blonde boy; he had her around the waist. "Are you okay…Ichigo Momomiya?" She stared at him a moment, "I'm Ryou Shirogane. We don't have time so I'll explain later; you have to beat that monster." "What?!" She looked at him like he was crazy. "What do you mean- noooo!" They lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his torso when the giant rat attacked again. "You're…heavier than you look." "Go away! Let me go!" "Stop moving around!"_

"Ryou…" Ichigo mumbled.

"Now, see?" Royal Highness said, "You remember now, don't you?"

"I-I…" Ichigo stuttered.

"What about when you found Minto?" Royal Highness asked, "That was fun time, wasn't it? And before you met you little stalker alien friend."

"Met…Minto? I-" Another memory came before she could finish.

_She was at a ballet recital, watching the girl with blue hair and blue eyes, wearing the pretty blue and white dress. After the recital she'd gone back to the dressing rooms to look for her and see if she had something…something…what was it? "Look, I knew you were a bit weird but I never expected you to be a stalker." Minto said, starling Ichigo. "Your performance was so wonderful!" Ichigo thought maybe she could flatter her way out, "You're a fantastic ballerina!" "Tell me why you're here, psycho." "Have you experienced anything strange lately? Do you feel more agile or have any weird marks?" "Mickey, would you please bark her out of my sight?!…Mickey?" "Huh?" A giant dog stood behind them; "Uh…uh" Minto stared at it, dumbfounded. Ichigo had to do something._

_The back of Minto's dress was ripped open, she had a mark. Two little wings right between her shoulder blades. "Minto!! Minto, please listen, you can transform! You're one of my kind! I know you don't believe me, but you can transform!" "I can't…but I'm not…" "Hurry and change!" "I can't! I can't be…I can't do it!!" "Minto! Minto! Minto…please." "Please stop!" A bright blue light. Minto was now wearing a short, mint colored dress with gloves and ankle high boots, blue wings and a bird's tail now apart of her._

"Interesting," Royal Highness said, as though he had seen it to, "even though Mew Mint didn't believe, you still got her to transform." Ichigo let out a quiet groan, a headache beginning to pound in her head. "What about Mew Lettuce? What do you remember about her?"

"_We just want you to go check it out." "We went to the music and science room already; we'll go to the pool and come back." "You can't back out on us." "I didn't say that…" "She's getting picked on again." "Ichigo?" She got a parfait, "Here's your order of strawberry parfait!" "That's not my order!" "Oops! I'm so sorry!" She tripped on purpose, spilling the dessert all over the girls. "Oh no, Aya!" "You stupid klutz!" "I've seen your face before! Those witches from the museum!" "Excuse me, I'm horribly sorry about all this, please excuse my employee." Keiichiro came up behind them. "Let me help you clean up." He winked at Ichigo. "I couldn't watch them be mean to you again," She was talking to the green haired girl now. "Thanks." "Why do you hand around them? It looks like all they do is pick on you." "I think they're angry about things in their lives, so they take it out on me. Maybe if I listen them, I can help them and we'll be friends. I just want to try a little longer." "I see. I'm Ichigo Momomiya!" "I'm Retasu Midorikawa!" "Retasu! Let's go!"_

"_We have to gather more information!" "No!" "What?" "I said no! I'M SCARE OF GHOSTS!" "Why are you being such a wimp?!" "Ghosts freak me out! I'm terrified of ghosts!!" "…you're that scared?! We won't go today, then. Besides, it's almost four pm." "Really?" "I have to go to my Japanese dancing class."_

"_For your evil actions, we will make you pay!" "The pool!" She had a really bad feeling as the water began to rise, but it was okay, she had a partner now. "Let's go, Minto!" "RIBBON…MINT ECHO!" "RIBBON…STRAWBERRY CHECK!" The water fell back to the pool. "We did it! Let's look for Retasu." "Uh, yeah." "I don't see her anywhere." "Retasu!" "Ichigo! Behind you!" The water rose once again and wrapped around her, dragging her into the pool and deep…deep…deep… "Ichigo!" Minto shot an arrow into the pool and Ichigo was able to resurface. Retasu came up out of the water. "It can't be…Retasu?! Retasu…why?" A bright green light flashed and Retasu was wearing a sort of bathing suit with boots and had white ribbons on her head, her green hair tied back in a ponytail with a white wrap. "It can't be…she's…one of…out kind." "LETTUCE TANET! RIBBON…LETTUCE FLASH!" "Nooo!" "Minto!" "It's your turn." "Retasu, stop!" "RIBBON…LETTUCE FLASH!" "Yaaaaa!" She jumped out of the way. "Next time, I won't miss." What was Ichigo supposed to do? She'd just discovered another partner, but she had no choice. "RIBBON…" She stopped, seeing Retasu crying. "Retasu, you're…scared aren't you?! You're really just freaked out and you don't know what to do with yourself, that's why you're doing this!" "Shut up!" "I won't be quiet! Inside you're a really sweet person! I know it; I know for sure that I'm right." "I can't…take this anymore! I just wanted to be friends with everyone, but suddenly, strange things started to happen to me. Now I'll never have any friends! I'll never have any friends…" Ichigo remembered back when Retasu said she'd try a little longer. "It's alright," Minto spoke now, "You were really just confused. Fortunately we're not really hurt and that other girl is okay. People will just assume that it was a ghost. It's alright." "No." "Ichigo?" "There's no excuse for hurting other people, I can't let her get off so easily. For your evil actions-" "Ichigo!" "-I will make you pay!" "Waaaaa!" Ichigo tackled Retasu into the pool, tickling her._

Royal Highness chuckled, "Remembering something?"

Ichigo's head spun and pounded so hard it felt like it might burst. "What…what are you doing?"

"Tell me, Mew Strawberry, about when you got Mew Pudding," Royal Highness said, "She's quite the exciting little girl, isn't she? I do wonder how you ever got to her before the aliens did. She seems to have quite the infatuation with the youngest of them, doesn't she? What's the boy's name…Tart, isn't it?"

"Tart…?" Ichigo panted, "You mean…"

"_You knew Tart and Pai too." Kish said._

"Tart was a…." Ichigo trailed off.

"Oh, yes!" Royal Highness said, "He was, and so was Pai, and your new little boyfriend, Kish. They were all aliens out to destroy the world."

"No," Ichigo said, "No, that can't be…Kish wouldn't…do that, he-"

"Maybe not now, no, but he had tried once before," Royal Highness said, "And isn't that a more logical explanation for why you can't stand him so much? Now, what about Mew Pudding?" He pressed a button, making the electric pulses faster and harder. Ichigo gasped, her head spinning and she felt like she might pass out.

"_You can pay me after the show, na no da!" A blonde girl exclaimed. Ichigo stood there with a black haired boy. She had seen the girl somewhere before. "Ten bucks for the performance, na no da!" She held out her small hand. "Wait…we didn't ask for this!" "But why not, na no da?" Purin began to get teary eyed. "Uh…" "I tried to put on a good show, na no da, I thought you'd enjoy it na no da, and I gave it my best shot, na no da…" "It's alright. Please don't cry, here you go!" She handed her something. "Oh, thank you, na no da!" "Bye bye!"_

"_I found you, na no da!" "Whoa!" Ichigo's cat ears popped up. "What is it? What do you need?" "Your ears, na no da." "What?" "Wow! You have cat ears, na no da! How cool is that!" "Wait a minute!" "Here kitty, kitty! Kitty, kitty!" "What about a cat?" "Huh?" They both looked up and saw a cloaked figure perched atop a gate pillar. "I wanted to see the human trying to sabotage our plan, but you're pretty cute!" "Who are you?!"_

"_Woo hoo! Battle of the monsters, na no da, how cool!" Ichigo stood with Purin clinging to her arm, staring up at the many giant Chimera Animas. "It's time to see just how powerful you really are." She had to jump, run and avoid the Animas' attacks. She ended up on the ground, surrounded by them. Where was Purin? "Help, na no da! I'm a million miles up!" An elephant Chimera had her curled in its trunk. "Better just worry about yourself right now!" "Argh! Ouch!" Alien Kish landed on the ground and walked up to Ichigo. "Argh! Ouch!" She was now stuck under the foot of a lion Chimera Anima. "Is that all you can do? I expected more." He sat down on the ground and curled a finger around her chin, "This is boring! So I guess I have to kill you now." "No…" "It's nothing personal but…keeping you alive will get me in trouble later." "RIBBON…MINT ECHO!" Kish leapt away. "Huh? Oh, great, there's another one."_

"_Gotcha!" Ichigo caught Purin as she fell from the elephant's trunk. "But the games not over yet." Kish watched the mews from his perch. "The aliens just go and infect a new animal once we've made them leave a body!" "This is going to be endless!" Minto and Retasu were now standing with Ichigo. Purin looked up and saw a giant elephant foot overhead of Ichigo, "Look out!" She pushed her out of the way. "Aaaah!" She landed on her side and when she looked up, Purin was under the foot. "No!" a mark on Purin's forehead glowed a brilliant yellow until her whole body was engulfed by it. "I've got ears and a tail too, na no da!" Purin was now wearing a short, yellow jump suit with orange slippers, yellow legwarmers, and fingerless gloves. She also had monkey ears and a tail. "Did we find out fourth fighter, na no da?! I'll take care of this!" She held her hands above her, "PUDDING RINGS! RIBBON…PUDDING RING INFERNO!"_

"It's nice, is it not?" Royal Highness said, "Getting to remember all these wonderful memories, remember why you're so tied to those waitresses at Café Mew Mew, know why you can never love your boyfriend-"

"Shut up." Ichigo said.

"Hm?" Royal Highness looked at her.

"I said shut up." Ichigo said, "You don't know what I feel!"

"Oh? So then do you love this alien of yours?" Royal Highness asked, "Because I know he certainly loves you."

"I…I was never a mew mew!" Ichigo exclaimed, "I was never anything important! I never had any Irimote Wildcat genes in me! I never had any of that!"

"And that just proves that I'm right!" Royal Highness laughed, "I never said _what_ Ryou Shirogane infected you with, I just said that he had!"

Ichigo gasped in realization. Royal Highness was right, he hadn't said what animal she had in her, only she that she had it. Was this really the life no one had told her about?

"And now," Royal Highness said, "There's a few more things we need to talk over before the final test. Tell me, what do you remember about Mew Zakuro?"

"M-Mew Zakuro…?" Ichigo said. Again, a pulse of electricity hit her hard and sent a shockwave through her, also sending new memories.

"_Oh my!" "We found the fifth member?!" "It _has_ to be this model!" "She does kind of like the girl from the earthquake." "She sure wasn't very friendly." "Maybe it's not her." "Are you both blind?" "Huh?" "Look at that long, glossy raven hair! It sparkles like black opals! She has dark, sensitive yet intelligent eyes, like sapphires! And those long, strong and thin legs belong to a dancer! She has to be one of us! She's the partner we've all been looking for! Together we will save the world!" "Oh, Minto, you just want to meet her, right?" "This is not about me! I just want to help find out last partner!" "It's okay Minto!" It was so cute; Minto was a huge fan of that model. "What are trying to say, exactly?!" "You must be her biggest fan, na no da!" "Like I said…!" Ichigo wanted to help her._

"_We're here to find out last partner, not daydream, remember?!" "Oh, yeah, you're right! And you get to see if your idol is one of us!" "Ichigo!" "Just kidding!" "We'll be starting the audition now." "Wow, there are a lot of pretty girls here." "We'll start with the walk; Minto Aizawa-san?" "Sure." Minto walked out onto the stage. All that ballet and dance training really made a difference. "Ichigo Momomiya-san?" "Uh…yes!" Ichigo sighed and told herself to relax, stand up strait, and walk just like Minto. But she was getting dizzy and nervous. "Go ahead Momomiya-san. Momomoiya-san…your walk needs work, thank you." Ichigo bounced around on the stage before hurrying to the backstage. "Next is Retasu Midorikawa-san!" "That voice of hers…" "Oh!" Poor Retasu did even worse than Ichigo. "Retasu…" "I'm sorry! Waaah!" "I'm auditioning!" Purin suddenly appeared, "I'm going to walk too!" She began to twirl plates on sticks, "Am I not amazing?!" "Why is she twirling plates at a model search?!" "Check it out!" "And what is she doing with a gong?!" "I can even do this!" "Put that fire out!" "Stop fooling around! I've never seen such an audition before!" "Uh oh, the agent is getting pretty cranky." "Whoops, oh, Purin…" "What's going on?!" "What's the griping about?" "Girls, the agent is really upset about this." "The audition is canceled! Please get out of here!" "Sorry I'm late." Zakuro Fujiwara entered the room. "Any trouble?" "You won't believe this!" "What's the matter?" "Wow, I knew Zakuro grew up overseas but…" "She can speak English, French, German, Chinese, and Spanish!" "She's so smart, she can do anything!" "Sir, the Macgregor said the audition can continue if show you the walk." "Thank you, Zakuro-san!"_

"_Zakuro!" "Aaaaah!" "Everyone, get out! This way!" "Minto?!" "Zakuro, let's go!" A flash of purple light. Zakuro transform into her mew form, now wearing purple short shorts and a tube top with boots and wristbands. "RIBBON…ZAKURO PURE!" She used her whip to destroy all the crow Chimera Animas at once and walked away. Minto caught her eye. "We found you, na no da!" "And you're amazing!" "Our final partner!" The girls surrounded her, smiling and cheering. "Um, whatever ladies." But Zakuro turned them away. "I'm not joining anything, I'd rather be alone." "Zakuro…" "Get lost." "But…why?"_

_Zakuro was sitting on a sofa on a stage with three other people, the mews standing in the backstage area dressed as extras. Ichigo wondered where Kish could be hiding. The host of the show said that the cheetah seemed upset that day, and then the animals turned into Chimera Animas. "Whoa! AAAAh!" Everyone in the room rushed past her and the other girls, almost knocking her over. "So, you showed up." She heard Kish's voice above her. "Kish!!" "Alright ladies, time for you to kick back and watch the show. If you want to live, that is." "Kish!" Ichigo watched him fly away. She couldn't transform in public, so how was she supposed to help Zakuro? She was getting attacked. "Ichigo?!" "I have no choice…uh…" "What is that?!" "How dare you try this in public?! For your evil actions, I will make you pay!" "Darn it! I told her to just watch. They need some discipline. Go, Parasite Anima! Go!!" "Aah!" The giant snake anima attack Ichigo but Minto, Retasu, and Purin jumped in the way, protecting her and Zakuro. "Everyone?!" "We're coming Ichigo!" "RIBBON…MINT ECHO!" "RIBBON…LETTUCE RUSH!" "RIBBON…PUDDING RING INFERNO!" "RIBBON…STRAWBERRY CHECK!" They all attacked but it didn't work. Instead it attack back and trapped Mew Ichigo inside a bubble. Kish flew over to her. "Caught ya. I know you want to get me back, but I'm afraid that's never going to happen." Kish jumped up but something caught his eye. "What?" "Aren't you here for me?" Mew Zakuro stood there. "Now!!" Ichigo was free and she summoned her weapon, but something was different this time. Everyone's powers were going into her. "Our abilities are…resonating and…coming into me?" Ichigo felt everyone's power gathering. "STRAWBERRY BELL BELL VERSION UP!" She now stood with her upgraded weapon above her head, the larges rings circling around her. "You may like me but, I could not be less interested! RIBBON…STRAWBERRY CHECK SURPRISE!" The anima was defeated with a blast of rainbow colors. "Interesting…now I like you even more, Ichigo. See you later." "We did it!" "Look, Ichigo! Over there." Minto grabbed her arm and pointed over to a camera. "There they are! The super girls!" "It can't be!! This means "Is this some kind of joke?!" "Who are you?!" "Where are you from?!" "Tell us!" "Tokyo Café-" Minto covered Ichigo's mouth. "You can't tell them!" "That's right." "Mew?! Tokyo?!" "Is that your name?!" "No…!" "Ichigo?" "That's right. The five of us are Tokyo Mew Mew, defenders of justice!" They each posed, including Zakuro. "We're defending the planet for everyone!"_

"_What was that all about? A commercial for the café?!" The five were now on the roof. "Sorry! That was all I could think of!" "I thought it was cute!" "I agree, na no da!" "I'm just glad to be out of there; thank goodness Zakuro knew a back way out." Zakuro sighed. "Zakuro, we didn't mean to-" "I don't join groups. Period. For you guys, I'll make an exception." "Woo hoo!" They tackled her in a hug._

"Now, isn't that something?" Royal Highness said, "You've managed to find all five partners and the last one was pretty tough, huh? But yet you still managed, even with your little boyfriend flying around, chasing after you like a dog and a stick."

"What do you know about Kish?!" Ichigo exclaimed, a little breathy. Her head was spinning so badly, and she felt weak, but she couldn't curl up in a ball like she normally would when she felt weird, so she just hung there.

"What do _you_ know about him?" Royal Highness retorted. Ichigo flinched; she knew she couldn't possibly know that much, she'd only just "met" him and…what if he really was that alien she kept seeing?

"So, Mew Ichigo," Royal Highness said, "What about Mew Berry? What happened the first time you met her and all the fun times you had destroying our _hopes _and _dreams_ like the little justice defending heroines you are?"

"Oh, shut up alr- aaargh!" He pressed the button again and the pulses went fast and stronger again, forcing her to remember whatever he told her to.

_She stood over Mew Berry, who was sitting on the floor. "You alright, Mew Berry? Hi! I'm Mew Ichigo!" Berry looked up at her in surprise, awe, and admiration. She got up and joined Ichigo. "Mew Mew Mew Ichigo is back!" "And Mew Mew Mew Berry has joined the fray!" "The double berries will defend the future of our earth!" "Could this be the strongest Mew Mew?! Fine then, I'll eliminate both of you!" "Now's your chance. Ready, Mew Berry?" "Read, Mew Ichigo!" "RIBBON…" "Eh?!" She turned into a cat. "Meow…" She started rambling off, meowing, and Berry couldn't understand a word of it. Happy Child laughed, "Could you be any more stupid?! You used to be the strongest mew mew? You make me laugh. Here you go!" He sent off high pitched sonic sound waves. They hurt Mew Berry's and Mew Ichigo's ears, especially Berry's rabbit ears. "Show me a cat and rabbit dance!" "My eyes are spinning again…huh?" Ichigo jumped at Berry, meowing again, and clamped her paws over her rabbit ears. "Huh?" "Since I can't hear anything now, I can attack! So what if we're a little unbalanced--lets rock! RIBBON…LOVEBERRY CHECK!" Ichigo got dizzy as Berry jumped around, sending attacks at Happy Child. "Aaaagh!" He finally gave up. "Well, that's enough for today, I guess. At least you made me laugh! See ya!" "We did it!" Both girls collapsed on the floor. The other mews rushed in. "Berry!" "Oh, girls…" "What in the world happened to you?" "Ichigo?!" "Meow…" "Ichigoooo!" Everyone ran at the human-turned-cat for a group hug. But Minto got to her first. "Ichigo! Have you forgotten that one of your worst experiences happened because you turned into a cat instead of a mew mew?!" "Minto got stuck in the mud because of Ichigo, na no da." "Ahh, back in my own body!" Ichigo held onto a calico cat that she'd used as her kissing victim. "So, how come you're back in Japan, Ichigo?" "Huh? Oh, my study abroad was only for four months, silly! Didn't I tell you that?" "What was that?!" "I didn't know!" "Anyway…" They all jumped on her for a huge hug. "Welcome back Ichigo!"_

"_We took care of those little aliens, na no da!" "Mew Berry and Mew Ichigo!" "Are you ready, Mew Berry?" "Yes!" "RIBBON…DOUBLE BERRY CHECK!" "Curse you! I'll back for my revenge!"_

"_Mind if I ask you something, Berry?" "Um, okay." "When did you guys starting dating?" "Whaaaaat?! Um, uh, you must be confused, we're absolutely not dating!" "Really? Weird…the two of you really give off that dating vibe." "Heck, I thought you were already engaged." "We're just friends from when we were little kids!" "That true, Tasuku-oniichan, na no da?" "Yup, that's true; we're just buddies from childhood." "Really? That's so…boring."_

"_Eek! Ichigo?" "Shh!" "Ichigo--where did you disappear to?!" Hand over your cell phone gently, na no da! Its evidence, na no da!" "They're all just overreacting; it's just an email from Masaya." "Oh, he must be your boyfriend!" "Yup, my boyfriend. It still makes me blush, saying that…" "Ummm, Ichigo? When did you realize you liked Masaya?" "For me, it was love at first sight. But then again, I love him even more now, than when I first met him. The more time I spend with him, the more I realize I love him. Ah ha ha, got a little carried away there. But the truth is, it doesn't matter how you started loving someone, it's more important that you cultivate the love as you spend time together. I think that's the real definition of true love." Something small and yellow whizzed by. "Mission accomplished, na no da! I got the cell phone!" "Aaaah! Purin!" "Kudos, Purin! Good job!"_

"_Sunday is a major cleanup day at Café Mew Mew!" The girls were all out on the second story porch of the café. "Sorry to make you work on a Sunday morning." "Oof!" Berry set some chairs down around a table. Ichigo pat her on the back, "What are you grinning about?" "I-I'm not smiling, really!" "Thanks for the hard work, why don't you take a break until we open up again in the afternoon?" "Look at that!" "What? You've got to be kidding me; Mew Mew Pancake? We're a pancake brand now?" "I see it too." "And believe it or not, I saw a special about us mew mews last night on TV." "Really?" "It's sweet, na no da!" Purin was eating some Mew Mew Pancakes. "Everyone's talking about the mew mews on TV, on the radio too!" "Tokyo Mew Mew is everywhere!" "Kids are dressing up as their favorite mew mew; people are snatching up mew mew products everywhere you look!" "Mew mews have become a fad. They're Japan's biggest boom in a long time." "Come to think of it, people don't seem as afraid anymore when our enemies attack them. But when the aliens were attacking, talk about a totally different equation." "They don't realize they're truly in danger." "They're just looking forward to getting rescued by the mew mews." "Well, perhaps that's a good thing. I might be missing some details, but I think this means people are realizing how helpful we are!" "Yup, that's what I think too, Berry." "I suppose that's preferable to everyone being scared all the time." "Well, time to get to work girls, lets rock!"_

"_Mew Berry!" The white mew jumped out of the building with a little girl just before it blew up. "Berry!!" "The little girl…is she injured?" "No, she's just fine. She just fainted. At least everyone's safely out of the building, thank goodness!" "Berry!" "You did it, na no da!" "The whole thing went so perfectly well for them, didn't it?" "Yeah, a little _too_ perfectly, know what I mean?" "Do you think they're the ones who set the bomb in the first place?" "No way!" "We'd never do such a horrible thing, na no da!" "What an amazingly cruel thing to say!" "They must have done it so they'd look like heroes with no effort!" "How dare you cause such a horrid explosion in our beautiful city?!" "You just wanted to show off your powers, didn't you?!" "We won't forgive you awful mew mews! Never!" "Wh-what's going on?" "What in the world is happening here?" "They're all acting to so bizarre, na no da." "Everything is the fault of the mew mews! Everything!" "The mew mews are the enemy!" "Down with the mews!" "Lose the mews!" Abuse the mews!" Ryou spoke from Ichigo's pendant, "Hey, everyone! Can you hear me?!" "Ryou?!" "Something weird is going on with these people…!" "Everyone is extremely susceptible to suggestion right now! We don't know _what_ they might do to you because of this brainwashing! You'd better retreat right away!" "Brainwashing?! Who could do this?!" "It must be Mew Berry!" "The mew mews were always our heroes until then!" "That's right! The original mews saved us from the evil aliens!" "So all of this is Mew Berry's fault!" "What the heck…? Berry didn't do anything bad!" Ichigo was the first to come to her defense. "Bring that witch down!" "Berry is evil!" "Down with Mew Berry!" "Our enemy is Mew Berry!" The mews stood guard around the white mew. "We won't hand over out Berry so easily." "Berry-san's our buddy forever!" "And we'll never betray her--so back off, na no da!" "Think ladies, we need a plan to get out of this madness!" "That's right." "Everyone…" "We'll fight you to the bitter end if you save that witch!" "Berry!" She jumped up to a building top, away from the protection of the mews._

"Painful, isn't it?" Royal Highness asked, "And not just the long, flowing stream of memories, but also having someone so easily take your place."

"Berry…" Ichigo said breathily, "Is my friend…no matter what."

"So, you believe me now?" Royal Highness asked, "That you're a mew mew."

"…yes." Ichigo answered. She really had no choice but to believe him.

Royal Highness smiled, "Good. So then, what do you think of your alien now?"

She knew what he meant; he was talking about Kish. She felt a slight fear run through her that he might be planning to do something to him. "Leave him alone." She said.

"Why? You can't honestly still have feelings for him, can you?" Royal Highness asked, amused.

"I…I do." Ichigo said.

"Even with know what he's done to you? To your friends? To your lover?" Royal Highness asked.

"Yes." Ichigo answered.

"And how is this?" Royal Highness asked.

Ichigo stayed silent for a while, thinking it over. She remembered back to Minto's party, how he'd saved her from Mickey when he had been turned into a Chimera Anima, and every time he was just there. When he took her on their first date, and all the times he came to pick her up from school. She remembered all of it and over the time she'd spent with him, her affections for him had grown more and more.

"I love him." She decided finally.

Royal Highness frowned, "Fine, then we can move on to the final test." He hit a button hard and quickly walked up to Ichigo with a strange looking gun. She squirmed and blushed when he lifted her skirt and shot the gun into the mark on her thigh.

She screamed, all pervertedness of the situation forgotten from the spike of pain that shot through her.

* * *

While all of that had been taking place, Kish was laying on the table, his legs dangling off the end, waiting impatiently in the basement-lab of the café, the mew mews sitting at the table.

Minto glared at him, annoyed, "Would sit in a chair?! It's _quite_ improper to be lying on a table!"

"Zip it, tori!" Kish snapped. He shot up suddenly, "And you! Blondie! Hurry it up already!"

"You can't rush a computer, Kish." Ryou said.

"Do not call me 'birdie'!" Minto said.

"Oh, do you _ever_ stop complaining?!" Kish exclaimed.

"At least I'm not lying on the table, annoying everyone!" Minto shouted.

"Who the hell said I was annoying anyone?!" Kish shouted back, "You're the only one who's got a problem with it!"

"Then would you at least do the respectable thing and _get off_?!" Minto nearly screamed the last bit.

"I can sit on the table if I want to!" Kish shouted.

"Stop it!" Retasu exclaimed, standing up abruptly. "Stop fighting, please!"

Kish and Minto glared at each other before turning away. Retasu sighed and sat back down.

"We can't just sit here, doing nothing, while they do God only know what to Ichigo." Kish hissed. "Isn't there _something_ we could do?"

"What if a few of us go check out where Satou lives?" Tasuku suggested, "He did say he had some suspicions about her."

"I don't know about that." Ryou said.

"I think they should." Keiichiro said, giving Ryou a look that suggested they let them go.

"I'm going!" Kish said, jumping off the table and turning to face the mews and his friends.

"I will go with you." Pai said.

Berry stood up, "This I my fault, I'm going too!"

"If Berry's going, I'm in." Tasuku said.

"Tasuku, you can't do anything." Ryou said.

"Yeah but…my bunny…" Tasuku said.

Kish rolled his eyes, "Just let him go. Who else?"

"Four of you should be enough," Keiichiro said, "If you run into any trouble, you can use Berry's pendant to contact us."

"Right," Kish said, "Lets go." He led them out of the lab, and up the stairs, heading out of the café and beginning to run once they were on the sidewalk. Well, Kish and Pai flew.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Ryou asked.

"I'm sure." Keiichiro said.

* * *

They skidded to a stop in front of the mansion's giant gates, Kish and Pai landing silently next to them.

"This is it." Berry said.

Tasuku shook the padlock on the gate. "This is all made out of wrought-iron, how are we supposed to get in?"

"Hi!" A cheery voice said. They sat Satou skipping up to the gate from her backyard. She giggled, "Did you guys come just to hang out with me?"

"Yip!" Berry said, faking her happy smile.

"Hm," Satou's smirk grew a little bit, "Great, you're just in time for a real show."

Kish and Pai exchanged glances. Kish's slightly confused and worried and Pai's kind of blank yet annoyed.

Satou reached out and easily opened the gates without even having to undo the padlock. The black iron gates swung open with a loud, metallic screech that made them all flinch and the girl happily escorted them up the walk, not at all affected by the loud noise.

* * *

Keiichiro and Zakuro had gone upstairs to make tea, leaving Purin and Tart to entertain themselves in the basement lab with Ryou and Minto.

Again, Minto was on patrol for watching the tracker screen. Ichigo's pink dot wasn't anywhere to be seen, which was usually normal, but recently it had been showing up, so it should have been there. "Any luck with you?" She asked Ryou, looking over at his screen.

"No." Ryou answered. He was tracking the Saint Rose Crusaders, using only a strand of blonde hair Zakuro had gotten from Happy Child. It was taking a while, almost to long he feared, as he was getting nowhere with it.

Minto looked back to her own screen, "If we don't hurry this up, someone's going to get hurt, I just know it."

"We can't make things go any fast than they're limit, Minto," Ryou said, "If we could, I would in a heartbeat, but we can't."

Minto nodded and moved her eyes from dot to dot on the screen. The blue, yellow, green, and purple ones were at the café, the white one on the move somewhere near their school, the only one missing was the pink one. Another white dot flashed, catching Minto's eye, but she didn't make anything of it…until it flashed pink.

"What the…?" She trailed off, sitting up strait in her chair. The little dot, where Berry, Kish, Pai, and Tasuku were, was flashing from pale pink to white continuously. "Ryou, look at this."

Ryou looked over at the screen, "What is it?"

Minto pointed to the flashing dot, "Eight we have a new mew, or they did something Ichigo, and they're right where Berry and the others are."

Ryou leaned over more to get a closer look, "Pink _and_ white? That can't be Ichigo; she should only be showing up pink."

"Like I said--maybe they did something to her." Minto said.

Ryou went back to his computer and pressed a button. "Berry? Berry, can you hear me?"

"_What?!_" She whispered into her pendant, probably attempting to hide it from Satou.

"They have Ichigo, Satou is Sweet Juliet, I'm sure of it!" Ryou said, "Find her, they did something to her!" All he heard was a gasp before Berry hung up.

Ryou roughly leaned back in his chair, "And now, all we can do is wait and hope they return safely."

Minto bit her lower lip, "I hate this." She sighed.

Ryou smirked, "Now you know how I feel every time you fix- six, go out to fight."

"Tea is on!" Keiichiro called down the stairs.

* * *

They entered the house and Satou lead them into the living room, the only lighting coming from the lit fireplace.

"What's that?" Kish asked, walking up to something large and covered with a white sheet.

Satou giggled, "I bird cage for a kitty!"

Still, Kish grabbed the white sheet and yanked it off. Sure enough, it was a birdcage, big enough probably even for a dog or two, or a human. "Weird." He mumbled and let the sheet drop to the floor.

The phone rang. "Oh! I'll be right back!" Satou said. "You be good now!" She skipped to the other room.

"Guys!" Berry said in a loud whisper, "Come closer, there's something I need to tell you!"

Pai, Kish, and Tasuku walked over to her and they huddled together, "Okay," Berry said, "Ryou said they found where Ichigo is; here, and that they did something her-"

"I knew it!" Kish growled.

"Now, listen," Berry said, "We have to be careful about this, one slip and who knows what'll happen. Kish, I want you to ask to use the restroom, Pai, Tasuku, and I will ask for a tour of the house."

"Why do I have to ask for the restroom?" Kish asked, a little disappointed at the task.

"Because, then you can search the house without anyone watching, but be careful of the other Crusaders."

"Right," Kish said, still not liking this plan to much. He thought it took up to much time. "What about an ambush?"

"There are four of us and four of them, an ambush wouldn't work." Pai said.

Kish sighed, "Fine."

"What are guys doing?" Satou asked from the doorway she'd left in.

They looked at her and she bounced up to them, huddling like they were. She giggled, "This is fun! So what are we talking about?" She whispered, glancing at each of them.

"Um…nothing!" Berry said, standing up strait, "Just about some new recipes for the café, you know, Akasaka-san doesn't want them to get out and all that, it would ruin the business."

"Is there a restroom around here?" Kish asked.

Satou looked at him for a moment before finally answering, "Yeah, just up the stairs, third door to your left."

"Thanks." Kish said and turned to walk off.

"Don't take to long now!" Satou called after him, as though she knew what he was up to. Kish didn't respond, he just kept walking until he was in the foyer and then headed up the stairs.

"Hey, could we have a tour of the house?" Tasuku asked.

"Sure, why not?" Satou said, "Though, I'm afraid you won't be able to see the basement, even if it is pretty neat, but it's a total mess right now! Anyway, follow me!" She led them away, first to the study which was where she'd gone to answer the phone.

Kish stood at the top of the stairs, his back pressed to the wall, as he listened to the people below. When he heard them walking towards the stairs, he went down the hall a ways until he found the bathroom and went it.

"Hm, screw wandering around;" He mumbled to himself, "I don't have to listen to her." He teleported to the top of the basement stairs, that was as far as he could go without having been there before, and then lifted himself into the air a bit to float down. He looked around in amazement at the computers and equipment all around, then on the other side of the room was a giant machine with-

"If you really still think your little Prince Charming is going to come rescue you-"

Kish summoned his Dragon Swords. "You're right." He said. Royal Highness looked over at him and they glared at each other, "What the hell do you think you're doing?! The only one aloud up Ichigo's skirt is me!"

"Kish!" Ichigo squeaked, in both embarrassment and surprise.

Royal Highness smirked, dropped her skirt, and stood. "No worries, I didn't do anything to her. Well, not anything _you_ would do, I was just finishing the final test."

Kish stormed up to him, "What did you do?"

"You're short." Royal Highness said, looking down at him, "How old are you?"

"That doesn't matter!" Kish exclaimed, "What the hell did you do to her?!"

"Is she really worth all this effort?" Royal Highness asked, staring him strait in the eyes, attempting to hypnotize him.

"Yes." Kish growled, glaring at him. The hypnosis wasn't affecting him.

Royal Highness stared harder, "No, she's not."

"Yes, she is." Kish said.

"Ow…" He heard Ichigo say almost inaudibly. He looked over at her and saw her still hanging there, strapped to the machine.

"Kitten!" He grabbed one of the straps on her wrists and tried to jerk it around, but his attempts failed.

Royal Highness hastily walked over to the computer and slammed his fist down onto a pink button. Ichigo gasped, it hurt, but it was too much to scream.

"STOP!" Kish shouted, trying to get Ichigo down, but he couldn't see how. "Leave her alone! Stop it!" Royal Highness only laughed as a bright, pale pink light filled the room.

"Ichigo!" Berry, Pai, and Tasuku ran down the stairs, but had to stop and guard their eyes from the blinding light. Kish wrapped his arms around Ichigo's body and buried his face in crook of her neck.

"MEW MEW STRAWBERRY! METAMORPHOSIS!"

All at once, the light disappeared and Blue Bayou, Sweet Juliet, and Happy Child appeared behind Royal Highness. Berry, Pai, and Tart stood there, staring at Ichigo and Kish, who was still holding Ichigo. She was in mew form, but it was different. Royal Highness pressed another button on the computer, and the straps holding Ichigo up released. Kish caught her, slowly and gently lowering her to the floor as she collapsed onto him.

"Kitten? Ichigo?" He said, brushing some pink and white out of her eyes.

The differences weren't that many, but they were noticeable. Her red boots were now white, her gloves were white with a pink bow and silver bell, the bow on her tail was now pink, also with a silver bell, the edging on her garter, neck bands, and arm bands were now white, her hair had white streaks in it, and her tail was now a Snow Leopard tail.

"It's finished." Royal Highness said, sounding in awe at what he'd done.

"She looks kind of sick." Happy Child said.

"What did you do to her?!" Kish looked up at him in a rage, holding Ichigo close to him. She was shaking, and a sheen of sweat covered her brow.

Royal Highness smirked, "Ryou Shirogane didn't check her DNA match for every animal it seems; only the ones that were so endangered she'd actually want to fight and win. Hence why the Irimote Wildcat was chosen over another match of hers; the Snow Leopard.

"Now, I will tell you something interesting; the reason why this worked so well with Mew Berry, but not the strongest mew, Mew Ichigo. She has full Irimote Wildcat DNA inside of her, split that with human DNA, and now dice it with Snow Leopard DNA. Two halves of two DNA's, but only about a quarter of a third DNA, a strange mixture and a person can't handle it. It _must_ be an equal amount of each DNA for it not to completely destroy the person eventually!" He laughed as though he found this funny.

"Then why do this?!" Berry asked, "Why do this if you plan on using Ichigo?"

"Simple really," Royal Highness said, "She can last for as long as we need her, then she'll be to exhausted from the DNA mixture that she won't be able to exist for much longer."

"You're cruel!" Tasuku exclaimed.

"I won't let that happen to her." Kish stated.

"Too late," Blue Bayou said, "She's already got it in her."

Sweet Juliet stared at the half conscious girl lying in Kish's arms. She wondered why this was even happening, but kept silent.

"STRAWBERRY BELL!" Ichigo pushed off of Kish a bit to summon her weapon. It also had a few changes; now there was white thorn vines twined around it and the bell was silver.

"Ichigo, don't." Kish said warningly, but she didn't listen, instead she aimed for the Saint Rose Crusaders.

"RIBBON…STRAWBERRY- ack!" She almost literally chocked on the words.

"Ichigo!" Kish tried to pull her back into him, but she held a hand up, pushing him away, "Ichigo?"

She shook her head, keeping her head lowered so her bangs covered her eyes, "I remember now…I remember everything, the fighting, the mew mews, you, everything."

"I-Ichigo, I…look, hate me later but we've got to take of things here first, okay?" Kish said.

Ichigo looked up at him now and he was surprised so see her smiling sweetly at him, "I don't hate you."

"You don't?" Kish asked.

She shook her head with her eyes closed, "No…I love you." She knew it now, she knew it for sure, and she didn't care about all the things he did before, it was all in the past and if he had meant any of it, he wouldn't have fallen in love with her.

Kish couldn't help but smile. "You…love me?"

"Hah!" Royal Highness barked, "How touching. Now, let's get on with what the little Leopard Wildcat was made for."

"Wait!" Berry shouted, "How come her attack wouldn't work?!"

"A mew can't attack her own creator." Royal Highness said simply. "Now let's go."

Ichigo looked at Kish, worried, but a second later she and the Saint Rose Crusaders were gone.

"No!" Kish exclaimed, trying to grab her first, but he couldn't.

"We'll get her," Berry said, "I promise."

"I'm going ahead of everyone else," Kish said, standing, "I can follow their teleportation rout and see what's up."

"Kish," Pai said.

"Don't try stopping me!" Kish said, spinning around to face him.

"You'll need backup." Pai said.

Kish blinked, "Oh."

* * *

Me: Ah! Another cliffy! Sorry, but I think that's just going to keep happening, it's the only way I can think of to end the chapters nicely, hope no one minds to much. And just so people know, Ichigo will not be keeping the Snow Leopard DNA, it's a temporary thing.

Kish: You...so cruel...*eye twiches*

Me: O.o...he's starting to scare me! But...I do feel so mean for doing all this to Ichigo...

Kish: Read and Review!

Me: Please! You have to say please!


	22. One, Two, I'll Start With You

Me: I forgot to put in the last chapter that with Ichigo's new transformation she has a band on each leg, so I put that in this one...and I'm not to good with fight scenes, at least not big ones but...I did my best! And also, this is about the second to last chapter, so the next one will probably be the last, sorry I didn't figure that out sooner!

Thanks for Reading:  
**Mew Maria  
Cg2. nenetwin  
mew mew 124  
theforgottencreatures  
Meg-buix  
Taeniaea**

**Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew.**

* * *

"Let me go!" Ichigo squirmed and struggled as Blue Bayou held her by her arms. "Let me go!"

Blue Bayou gave her a sharp jerk, "Hold still!"

"What exactly do you expect I'll do?!" Ichigo demanded.

"Whatever we tell you to." Happy Child said.

"You know, for a 'happy kid' you sure are a spoiled brat!" Ichigo said.

"Hey!" Happy Child squeaked, tearing up in a way that reminded Ichigo of how Tart did when she called him a midget.

"_Someone's_ feeling better." Blue Bayou said, rolling his eyes.

Ichigo looked out over the city; it really was a nice view from the top of a hotel, but a little scary being so high up. She sighed, wondering when Kish and her friends where going to come and save her. She knew they would, they always managed to make it through. She looked down again and noticed something weird; since when had she had a band on both of her legs? Now, not only on her right thigh was there a pink band with white edging but also one on her left thigh. Ryou had mentioned something to the mews about their garters being a sign of power or something, why Ichigo's and Berry's were on their right legs while everyone else's was on their left, Berry's having a ribbon on it to show she was the second in command.

Royal Highness appeared, "Are you ready?"

"Ready." Blue Bayou said, tightening his grip on Ichigo.

Royal Highness smirked and stalked up to her, "Good." He grabbed her by her lower jaw and stared intently into her eyes.

"Now, little mew mew," He said, "You will do as I say, without question or hesitation."

Ichigo head started to fog up and her vision got a little cloudy, "I…"

"You will do as I say," Royal Highness repeated.

Ichigo's eyes fluttered a bit, "Oh…yes."

"Good." Royal Highness said, smiling evilly.

"What are you going to have her do first?" Sweet Juliet asked.

"First, we're going to wait for the mews and their little alien friends to arrive," Royal Highness said, "then, we'll have her eliminate them, and lastly, the world."

"Is she really strong enough for that?" Happy Child asked.

"Yes, oh yes." Royal Highness said.

* * *

Kish appeared in the bottom of the same hotel, staring up. Ichigo was up there, he could feel her. Tart and Pai appeared behind him, all three now in their alien clothes.

"What first?" Tart asked.

"Stall," Kish said, "until the mews get here we have to stall and do as much as we can, Royal Highness can hypnotize humans, so that's probably what they'll do to Ichigo. Or already have done."

The lifted off the ground and flew up, Kish in the lead, heading for the top of building.

The mews were still running for their destination, which had been only very recently discovered, and were already in mew form. Tasuku, Ryou, and Keiichiro waiting for them back at the café. Just as he had during the last battle with the aliens, Keiichiro had promised some nice tea for when the girls got back.

Ichigo, now being hypnotized, ran and leapt from the roof and down onto a balcony outside French doors.

"Ichigo!" Kish said, stopping. Pai and Tart stopped behind him. He smiled and tried to go over to her, but she summoned her weapon and aimed for him. "Ichigo?" Kish said again.

"RIBBON…STRAWBERRY CHECK!"

The aliens dodged out of the way.

"Ichigo, what are doing?!" Kish shouted over to her, "It's me! Kish!"

"I think you were right, Kish, they really did hypnotize her." Tart said, "She can't hear you now."

Ichigo leapt again, off of the balcony, grabbing the railing for support and jumping over the side. She fell, spinning in the air a few times but landing perfect on her feet in the street. A car swerved around her and honked a few times, but she ignored it. Kish, Pai, and Tart float back down, landing only a few feet away from her. The Saint Rose Crusaders watched from the roof of the building. Sweet Juliet watched in silence, it was reminding her of something, but what?

Finally, the mews arrived, already transformed. "Ichigo!" Berry cried, sounding relieved, but then looked a little worried when she didn't answer and kept staring with a blank stare at Kish.

She swiftly spun around and aimed her weapon at the mews, "RIBBON…STRAWBERRY CHECK!"

They jumped out of the way, dodging the attack, Berry having to grab Purin as she jumped back, each of the mews landing in various places on the sidewalk or road.

"Ichigo-oneechan…" Purin mumbled, Berry half way on top of her.

"Go." Royal Highness ordered.

Without a word, Blue Bayou picked Sweet Juliet up bridal style and jumped down to the same balcony Ichigo had, but instead of going anywhere else, he set the girl down and they entered the room. Inside, a large stereo system was set up with two large speakers next to it, two other ones hidden up on the roof, two tall stacks of CD's next to it, and wires everywhere. Sweet Juliet shuffled through the CD's a bit, Blue Bayou watching, until she found watched was looking for. The cover was pink with a blonde girl on the cover. She took the disk out and placed it in the special stereo system, pushing the play button to start it. Strange music started, a jumpy sort of electronic beat.

(_My Revenge Against the World - Ayria_)

_Seems everything I did was wrong and now,  
__Everything's gone,  
__Alone and silent, now this time is just for me,  
__I never wanted a part of this that got inside of me,  
__I thought I could get rid of you…it's not true,  
__I wanted to get away, I've never known what to say,  
__You were behind me, but never all the way,_

_And now I'll put up a fight, __this is destined to end tonight  
A course of action, execution, start the sequence go!_

The mews and aliens all flinched at the sudden loud music being blasted from the hotel. What was it? The mews got to their feet only to have Ichigo once again attack them.

"RIBBON…STRAWBERRY CHECK!"

It was aimed specifically for Berry, but she jumped away with Purin.

"Ichigo!" Berry screamed over the music, "It's me! Berry! Your best friend! Can't you hear me?!"

The aliens felt dizzy, the loud noise filling their ears and drowning out anything else. They found they couldn't move, but where to out of it to even really try, though they tried to fight it off, but it wasn't working. The music was too loud, and something had been done to it, sending them into an almost hypnosis like trance.

Berry pressed her palms to her rabbit ears, as did the rest of the mews, cringing as the song got into the louder, faster chorus.

_One, two, I'll start with you because you had the most to lose,  
__Three, four, on the ground, humanity is going down,  
__Five, six, now attack, this time no touchbacks,  
__Seven, eight, in spite of all our instincts we must strike  
__(Strike, strike, strike, strike, strike, strike…)_

_We have to strike,  
__(Strike, strike, strike, strike, strike, strike…)_

_Mass of destruction lies in my wake, all this is for me to take._

Ichigo's eyes glowed a pale pink as she swung around and aimed for the aliens, who didn't move at all, their eyes blank and almost lifeless, just as her own were.

"RIBBON…STRAWBERRY CHECK!"

The pink blast backfired off of a white one; Ichigo looked up and saw Berry standing in front of the aliens, her rabbit ears pinned down with her pink hair ribbons so anything she heard was at least muffled enough for her to move.

"Ichigo!" She screamed, "You have to snap out of this!"

Ichigo only raised her weapon again, "RIBBON…STRAWBERRY CHECK!"

At the same time, Berry raised hers, "RIBBON…LOVEBERRY CHECK!" The attacks bounced off each other, disintegrating. Berry watched with worry when Ichigo began to sway a little. The music was doing something her, she was sure of it.

And it was, the music was being played from a special stereo with a strange hypnotizing sound wave that echoed out silently underneath the high sound waves, hidden within. It had paralyzed all normal humans and the aliens, the mews the only ones that seemed immune to the hidden waves, which was actually what the Saint Rose Crusaders had wanted, and it the affect it had on Ichigo was going according to plan as well.

_You were by my side but this revenge is just for me,  
__This tidal wave of obsessive rage needing to satiate,  
__The forces behind a hostile state._

_One, two, I'll start with you because you had the most to lose,  
__Three, four, on the ground, humanity is going down,  
__Five, six, now attack, this time no touchbacks,  
__Seven, eight, in spite o~of this mortality,_

Purin summoned her weapons and ran for the one person she knew could help Ichigo. She ran up and smacked Kish in the head with the orange side of her weapon, he stumbled back and almost fell, catching himself but his eyes were still glazed over. She tugged on his ponytails and yelled.

"Wakey wakey! Kish-oniichan, we need you, na no da!" He only blinked a few times. She saw his lips move slightly as though he had said something or made some sort of noise, but she didn't hear anything, heck, what _could_ you hear over the loud noise emitting from the hotel room?

_One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,  
__All bets are off, this time we're shutting off,  
__One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,  
__And now, that's right, you all fall down._

She screamed this time, as loud as she could, "MOVE. YOUR ALIEN. BUUUUTT!"

Kish jolted back, seeming lucid enough just as Purin clamped her small hands over his ears, now dangling from him, she kicked her legs a few times, "Kish-oniichan! Don't just stand there, na no da! Ichigo-oneechan needs you!"

He blinked a few more times, "This music…it's doing something to us…"

Hurriedly, Purin let go of Kish's ears, plopping back down on her feet, and slipped off her mew gloves, a little surprised that she could actually take them off, and stuffed them into Kish's large ears. He looked a little surprised at first, then confused, and finally determined and ready to do whatever it was he had to do, which actually looked kind of funny with the fingerless orange gloves sticking out of his ears.

Ichigo, seeing Kish was now lucid, once again raised her weapon and aimed for him, though it would have to go through Berry, she took a firm stance and gathered her power, ready to kill.

_Taking my attack stance right now,  
__Making sure you all get knocked down,_

"RIBBON…STRAWBERRY SURPRISE!" A white light engulfed her before quickly seeping into her Strawberry Bell and turning pink, shooting at Berry and Kish.

"RIBBON…LOVEBERRY CHECK!" Berry held up her weapon and created a white shield of light. She had no other moves without Ichigo, only a shield and attack.

"Dragon Swords!" She heard from behind her and soon Kish was right next to her, adding onto her shield with shield of dark green light. They deflected Ichigo's attack, sending into a building, the sound of glass shattering making Berry flinch and remember when Ichigo had lost her memory, how everything had all begun.

_Don't try anything that gets in my way, this time no one gets a say._

Ichigo fired another attack, this time not just a single shot but a continuous one, "RIBBON…STRAWBERRY SURPRISE!" The pink shot into the white and green, mixing with it only slightly, but never breaking through. Berry took a step back, though, when Ichigo pushed forward, becoming stronger it seemed as the song dragged on.

"RIBBON…PUDDING RING INFERNO!" Purin helped by putting up her own shield, yellow light now mixed in with the dark green and white.

Again, Ichigo pushed harder, forcing as much of her power into the attack as she could, wind starting to pick up. Berry's hair blew behind her, her bangs swaying in her eyes and making it a little hard to see, so she raised an arm to her face to attempt blocking the sudden strong winds.

Kish jolted forward, this time Ichigo being the one to take a step back, her Strawberry Bell tilting to the side a little. But Kish knew this couldn't go on for much longer, if Ichigo used up to much energy and power…he shook his head.

He turned to Berry, "Do the double attack!"

"What?!" She looked at him like he was crazy.

"The double attack, do it!" Kish shouted.

"What's going on, na no da?!" Purin exclaimed. Her only response was Kish grabbing her around the waist and leaping away from Berry.

Berry dodged out of the way of Ichigo's attack, which was too much for only one person's shield, and ran at her, going along with whatever Kish had in mind. "RIBBON…"

Ichigo found the words suddenly pouring out of her mouth at the same times they were from Berry, who was now right in front of her, their weapons pressed together as the only things keeping them from running smack into each other, "DOUBLE BERRY CHECK!"

Berry went flying backwards, as did Ichigo but she used her cat-like reflexes to flip in the air and skidded on the blacktop with her hands in a very cat-like manner, letting out a long hiss as she did. Berry, however, wasn't so lucky, her backside slammed into the front of a building and she bounced off, landing on the sidewalk with a now bruised back, though how she wasn't bleeding she didn't know. She got up shakily. Honestly, what had Kish been thinking?

_Seems everything I did was wrong and now, everything's gone,  
__Alone and silent, now this time is just for me,  
__I never wanted a part of this that got inside of me,  
__I thought I could get rid of you…it's not true,_

Kish stood with Purin and bit his lower lip, that hadn't _quite_ gone according to plan. Ichigo was supposed to get more beat up than Berry had, or at least as much, but with her cat genes, and now doubled…he would have to figure something else out, but what? He saw Ichigo and Berry, several feet apart, the cat glaring at the rabbit with her blank eyes, and the rabbit looking back with worry and fear. Typical, wasn't it? The feline the dominant, more powerful being than the other, especially if was something so much smaller and weaker, like a rabbit. He looked to Pai and Tart, who still hadn't moved and were in the same trance-like state. He had to stop this, he and Berry and Purin where the only ones that could.

Suddenly, an idea came to mind.

_One, two, look at you, you have nothing left to prove,  
__Three, four, on the ground, your whole world crashing down,_

"Stay here," He said into Purin's monkey ear and flew towards Ichigo, snagging Ichigo up by the waist before she saw him and flying up towards the top of a building. She began to claw and bite at him, aiming mostly for his neck and eyes, but held her a bit low to keep her out of reach.

Once they were at the top of the building, he rather roughly shoved her onto the roof. He planted his own feet on the cement roof, staring intently at Ichigo, who glared back.

_Five, six, now attack, it's time for payback,  
__Seven, eight, now I know, everyone has got to go  
__Strike,  
__(Strike, strike, strike, strike, strike, strike…)_

_We have to strike,  
__(Strike, strike, strike, strike, strike, strike…)_

The singing stopped but the music continued. Kish summoned his Sias once again and flew at Ichigo, she held up her Strawberry Bell in defense.

"Come on!" Kish yelled, "I know you're still in there! If you were completely gone you'd fight harder than this!"

The music had to be what was making her even _want_ to fight, instead of just stand there like a lifeless zombie, Ryou had told him, Pai, and Tart all about how Royal Highness's hypnotizing works. But how could he get to the music and keep Ichigo distracted? He guessed he'd just have to wait it out until the song was over, but what if they replayed it or put something else on?

Back in the hotel, now waiting in the basement where the music was much more muffled and droned out, was Blue Bayou and Sweet Juliet, Happy Child and Royal Highness watching the fight from the roof.

"Um…" Sweet Juliet said, Blue Bayou looked over at her, "Why exactly are we doing this?"

Blue Bayou nearly fell over, "What?! We told you this, at least three times already!"

"But I don't get it," Sweet Juliet said, "So…I tune it out every time…"

Blue Bayou sighed in annoyance, "So we can take over the world, that's _always_ the reason."

"Yes, but why?" Sweet Juliet asked, kicking her legs out slowly as she sat on the metal bench and then guiding them back down, "we tried before and Duke said it was pointless, that we shouldn't have tried in the first place."

"Er…" Blue Bayou was at a loss here, she had a point, Royal Highness had never mentioned _why_ they were attempting to take over the world, just that they were. But what was his reason? Was it the same as the first, to get revenge on humans for treating them as freaks just because they had unusual powers? He sighed, "You…have a point, but I think it's to late to interfere."

Sweet Juliet shrugged, "You're no doubt strong enough to knock Royal Highness out, it wouldn't take much either."

"What are you suggesting?" Blue Bayou asked.

"We can stop this," Sweet Juliet said, "its nonsense and you know it, this is all pointlessness, and utter chaos being caused between good friends and lovers without logical reason."

Blue Bayou looked skeptical, "Can we really go against Royal Highness?"

"I don't see why not." Sweet Juliet said, "He went against Duke, so I suppose what goes around comes around. It hit the fan."

Blue Bayou fell silent for a while, thinking it over until he finally spoke up. "Alright, you get Happy Child; I'll take care of Royal Highness."

The music came to a stop finally but the mews still had a ringing in theirs ears, any normal humans that had heard it fell unconscious, and the Pai and Tart were pretty dizzy. To Royal Highness's surprise Sweet Juliet didn't start another song, instead, when he turned around, he saw Blue Bayou staring at him rather coldly.

"Whoa!" Something small and gray whizzed by and snagged Happy Child, stealing him away into the hotel room.

"What is it?" Royal Highness asked.

"What are we doing this?" Blue Bayou asked, "What's the point?"

"You ask this _now_ of all times?!" Royal Highness said, angered.

Kish jerked his Sais down, knocking Ichigo's Strawberry Bell out of her hands, and moved so quickly she hadn't even seen him moving at all. He had her hands pinned to the wall of the small shaft that lead inside the building one either side of her head, and he kissed her.

"I love you, damn it, now snap out of it!" He said once he pulled away.

Ichigo blinked a few times, the life somewhat coming back into her eyes, but she struggled to get away from him. He held her in place, not allowing her to move.

"Ichigo, wake up!" Kish exclaimed, "If we don't get you to Ryou soon you'll-" He stopped, the very idea of her death making the words choke in his mouth and tears come to his eyes, but he forced it all down, "Answer me!"

"Kish…" Was all she mumbled, it was a start, but she was still struggling.

"Berry…" Zakuro said, walking up to the girl as steadily as she could, Minto and Retasu following behind. Purin ran over to Tart and Pai to help them as best she could. "The source of the music, you and Minto, go."

Berry nodded once firmly, "Right," She turned and jumped up to the lowest balcony, Minto flying up behind her, and then to the next one and the next until they finally came to the room with the large stereo system. Sweet Juliet was once again shuffling through the stacks of CD's, Happy Child sitting on the large bed, his knees pulled to his chest, watching Sweet Juliet with a saddened face.

Sweet Juliet looked up and saw Berry and Minto, she jumped up and rushed over to them, "You have to help, I've already changed the hypnotizing sound wave frequencies, we can stop this but…I don't know what kind of music to put on."

"What? _Now_ you think you should stop this? Has this all been some kind of sick game to you?!" Minto said, the anger obvious in her blue eyes.

"Has Royal Highness really lost it?" Happy Child asked quietly from the bed, a slight whimper in his voice.

The girls ignored him, "I know, but…you shouldn't do anything without reason, and I've realized that there is no reason for this madness." Sweet Juliet said. "Please…for every living being on earth…"

"How do we know you're not lying?" Minto asked.

"…You don't." Sweet Juliet said, "You'll just have to trust me."

Berry studied the girl's face and saw no trace of deception, only honesty and guilt for having gone along with the plan this far. "Alright, show us what you have and how it works."

Sweet Juliet's face lit up a little and she led them over to the large stereo, "Right, this way, the sound waves this stereo sends out were originally set up to hypnotize any human, though we weren't sure what it would to the aliens, but we knew it couldn't have been much of a different affect, and the only ones immune to it were the mews because of their animal DNA, but it would be to loud for them to handle, also because of the DNA -animals have louder hearing than humans- but I changed it a bit so the waves send out a calmer, healing affect."

"Seems pretty complicated," Minto said, eyeing all the wires twisting around everywhere. "What do you need us for?"

Sweet Juliet twiddled her fingers in front of her stomach, "The only problem is that if a person is used to the music being played, it most likely won't work, they're to used to the sound of it, but it should wear off eventually, though I'm not sure how long that would take, but it has to be something unusual to work right, and with the changes I made, also something upbeat and happy, so…I'm not sure what I should play, I've never been around any others besides Happy Child, Blue Bayou, Royal Highness, and Duke."

Berry and Minto looked at each other and then back at Sweet Juliet, "Show us what you got." Berry said.

The three girls sat down in front of the stacks of music CD's, there were quite a few that Berry and Minto had never heard of; _Abney Park, Hate in the Box, Emilie Autumn, The Birthday Massacre, Switchblade Symphony, Strawberry Switchblade, Ayira, Asrai, _and at least two or three CD's from each band, and for some there were four or more.

"Wow," Minto said, "Are these all yours?" Sweet Juliet nodded, "You must really like music, huh?"

"Yeah," Sweet Juliet said.

Below, Retasu turned to Purin, "How come you weren't affected by the music as we were?"

Purin pulled to, small, white earplugs out of her monkey ears, "Purin came prepared, na no da!"

Kish didn't know what to do, how was he supposed to get Ichigo out of the hypnosis? He couldn't think of anything that would work, besides just kissing her until she gave in, but he doubted it would really do anything. He kept her pinned to the cement wall as she squirmed, thinking of what to do. Then it hit him.

"Ichigo, remember!" He said, "I know you can hear me, remember everything that's happened since we met, even before that! When you first met Minto, and Retasu, and all the other mews, and how you all became such good friends, and you beat Deep Blue because of that, because you were with them you could do anything, and we need you right now, we need you to wake up from whatever spell you're under and help us, Ichigo…! Kitten, _I_ need you, and I always will, so stop this and come back to me!" He kissed her again, pressing harder this time.

Ichigo gasped inwardly and slid down a little, but Kish caught her and held her up. "Kish…?" She said, her eyes were clear now, shining as they usually were, confusion and curiosity showing in her pink, glittering eyes.

"Ichigo?" Kish said.

"W-what happened?" Ichigo asked, seeing all the destroyed parts of the buildings below.

"A lot, Kitten, a lot," Kish said, smiling and hugging her so tight she almost couldn't breathe. Music started up again, different this time, much softer and gentler, and as if something that was once hidden in it was now gone. It sounded…clean, almost.

(_Who Knows What Love Is? - Strawberry Switchblade_)

_Sitting in my front room,  
__On a rainy afternoon,  
__My mind turns to think of you,  
__And how I might see you soon,  
__Then I get myself a glass of milk, and a color magazine,  
__I flick through it slowly but the pages are unseen._

_And I think, who knows what love is?  
__I wonder if you do,  
__Who can tell me what love is?  
__I wish it could be you,  
__I wish it could be you._

Kish and Ichigo looked over to see the mews and Sweet Juliet with Happy Child and Blue Bayou all standing on the balcony where the music was coming from, Pai and Tart hovering around them. The human in the city began to get up slowly, waking from their unconsciousness, confused and a little dazed, but at least they were okay.

"I can't believe I did all that…" Ichigo said, feeling tears come to her eyes as she looked at the broken walls and windows and sidewalks.

"Yeah, you _might_ want to apologize to Berry for blasting her into a wall," Kish said, "And me for suggesting it…"

"What?!" Ichigo squealed, her black ears standing on end and her Snow Leopard tail going strait.

"Well, it was kind of my fault," Kish said, "I told her to do the double attack with you, 'cause I thought it would disable your weapon, you know, kind of like the positive and negative sides of magnets, but…it didn't work."

_Sitting in my front room,  
__As the sun is going down,  
__I'm wishing I had someone,  
__Who could maybe come around,  
__Oh, but all I do is watch TV,  
__A program I want to,  
__But I never see it,  
_'_Cause I'm thinking about you._

_And I think, who knows what love is?  
__I wonder if you do,  
__Who can tell me what love is?  
I wish it could be you,  
__I wish it could be you._

"Is she okay?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Kish sighed, "No got hurt to badly and besides, it's all over now."

"Yeah…" Ichigo said. She looked up at him, confused, "And why do you have Purin's gloves in your ears?"

Kish smirked and laughed, a little embarrassed, and pulled them out, "So I wasn't affected by the music…"

"O…kay." Ichigo said.

"Wait!" Kish jumped suddenly, as though he had been startled and grabbed her by her shoulders, "We have to get you to Ryou!"

_I wonder if you do,  
__Who can tell me what love is?  
I wish it could be you,  
__I wish it could be you._

Minto turned to Blue Bayou, "Hey, what happened to Royal Highness?"

Blue Bayou sighed, looking up at the sky, "Let's just say, he was taken care of."

"You…?" Berry trailed off, staring at him with horror in her eyes.

"No," Blue Bayou said, know what she was meaning, "I just…made sure he wouldn't try this again."

The music came to a close again; all the humans on the street seemed to be doing much better, no longer unconscious from the hypnotizing music and now rather confused. But they knew that whatever had happened, Tokyo Mew Mew had saved them once again.

* * *

Me: Not as long as I had wanted it to be, but...I hope it was okay! I'm a bit nervous about putting it up, since it was my first time writing a scene like that. The bands and songs I used are real and I own nothing, but I will say that they are awesomeness. I thought _My Revenge Against the World_ really fit the scene, and then _Who Knows What Love Is_ after it, but it took me forever and a day to figure out what to use as the second song, hehe.

Kish: Kousagi has a strange taste in music.

Me: Justin says it's crap but I like it...anyway, Read and Review please, the end is near...for this fic...^^I've already started on the next chapter.


	23. Happy Halloween

Me: And here is the last chapter! Sorry it took so long to get up, there was just a bunch of stuff keeping me from updating, hehe.

Thanks for Reading:  
**mew mew 124  
Zira the insane one**

**Disclaimer: StrawberryKousagi does not own Tokyo Mew Mew.**

* * *

After Kish had so hurriedly told the mews that Ichigo needed to go to Ryou so he could sort out her DNA and separate to Snow Leopard from what had to stay to remove it, everyone went back to the café, what was left of the Saint Rose Crusaders included.

Ichigo was now sitting on a hospital bed like the one she had in Royal Highness's basement, watching Ryou curiously as he worked at his computer, kicking her legs childishly, and Kish standing next to the bed, holding her hand, everyone else was waiting up in the front room of the café, drinking Tasuku and Keiichiro's promised tea.

"Alright," Ryou said, "Lie down and I'll start the extraction."

Ichigo nodded, and she seemed a little scared and nervous, Kish gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "I'll be here when you wake up, okay? I promise." He gave her a reassuring smile.

She smiled back and he helped her lie down on the table.

"Now close your eyes and count to ten…" Ryou said.

Ichigo sighed, closing her eyes, and counted in her mind, "_One, two, three, four, five…six…seven…eight……nine……_" Her mind drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Kish didn't move from his spot, only staring down at her, worry and concern evident in his eyes.

"Hey," Ryou said, "Why don't you go have some tea with the others?" He jerked his head towards the stairs, "I'll tell you when it's done."

"But…" Kish looked from Ryou to Ichigo, "I promised her I'd be here when she woke up…"

"It's okay, that shouldn't be until about a half hour after I'm done." Ryou said, "Go on, you look like you could use it."

Kish gave in and headed for the stairs, but stopped just before, looking over his shoulder, "Oh and Ryou…thanks."

"No problem." Ryou said and watched as Kish climbed up the stairs. He knew what he had meant, he was thanking him for keeping Ichigo alive, for knowing what to do and how to do it.

Sweet Juliet sat at a table with Blue Bayou and Happy Child. "_What was so familiar about all that?_" She mused to herself. "_There had to have been something…_" Suddenly, she gasped loudly, dropping her pink teacup, spilling to steaming liquid all over her skirt, and sending the glass shattering on the floor, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Her parents. Somehow, it had brought the faint memory of her parents back into her mind. She hadn't thought of her parents in _years,_ not since she was a small child and they had shipped her off to boarding school.

"Juliet?" Blue Bayou asked, worry in his voice, "Hey, you okay?"

"Sweet Juliet?" Berry got up and rushed over to her with a dishtowel, beginning to dab at her skirt so it wouldn't burn her. Sweet Juliet didn't answer; she only clamped her hands over her mouth and shook her head, squeezing her eyes closed.

"Hey, Juliet, what's wrong?" Blue Bayou asked.

Berry let out a small gasp and jumped back when Juliet abruptly stood from her seat and ran for the girls' changing room.

"Juliet!" Blue Bayou called, running after her. Happy Child stayed in his seat, watching, though he was worried about what happened to her.

"What was that all about?" Tasuku asked, helping Berry up.

"What was what about?" Kish asked, walking into the room from the basement.

"Sweet Juliet just ran out of the room." Tasuku said, "I think she was crying too."

"I'm going to go check up on her," Berry said, heading for the backrooms.

"Didn't Blue Bayou just go back there?" Tasuku asked.

Minto stood up, "Yes, but guys can be so insensitive sometimes." With that she followed the rabbit girl. Retasu, Purin, and Zakuro also went back to see what had happened.

Sweet Juliet was curled up in a ball in the corner of the girls' changing room, having locked herself in there, crying. Blue Bayou pounded on the door.

"Come on, Juliet, let me in!" He said.

"Go away!" Juliet told him. He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest just as the mews came walking up to him.

"She won't let me in," He informed, "She locked the door, too."

Minto knocked on the door, "Juliet, sweetie, let me in." She could be nice, when she wanted to be.

"No." She said bluntly. She sniffled and covered her hands further with her sleeves by sliding them down her legs.

Minto sighed and reached into her apron pocket, taking out a ring of keys and unlocking the door. "Retasu, I think you aught to be the one to handle this."

"Ah, v-very well…" Retasu said and shyly opened the door, cracking it open to peak in.

"I don't want to see anyone!" Sweet Juliet said.

Retasu flinched, but opened the door further, stepping in and closing it behind her. "I-I know, but…it really is best that you tell us what, um, what happened."

"It's nothing…" Sweet Juliet said, crossing her arms over her knees and looking down.

"Well, it must have been something," Retasu said. She walked over and sat next to her, "so what was it?"

Sweet Juliet bit her lower lip and looked away, "Everything…all of this that has happened, it all made me think of my parents, that's it, it's no big deal."

Retasu reached over and wiped a tear out of her eye, "I'm finding that hard to believe…"

Sweet Juliet couldn't hold it anymore; she burst into tears and threw her arms around Retasu's neck, crying into her shoulder.

"Oh!" Retasu gasped, hesitantly wrapping her arms around the girl.

"I haven't seen them in years!" Sweet Juliet cried, "Not since they abandoned me at that stupid boarding school for "_gifted_" children!"

Retasu hugged the girl and shushed her, "There, there, its okay…"

"No it's not!" Juliet cried, "It's not okay because I _miss_ them! I _MISS_ them! You're not supposed to miss people you hate!"

"Do you really hate your parents?" Retasu asked, beginning to stroke her hair.

"Yes!" Juliet wailed, "For dumping me at that boarding school! I shouldn't even be calling them _parents_!"

Retasu pulled her back some and stared into her eyes, "Be honest with me, do you really hate your parents? Your own parents, the very people who gave you your life, and probably don't even know that well?"

There was a long, silent pause.

"No…" Sweet Juliet whispered in a quiet squeak. She sniffled.

"Okay then," Retasu said, "it's not so bad, now is it?" Juliet shook her head slowly, "then stop this crying."

"Yeah, and get up, you need to change those clothes." They looked up and saw the mews standing near the door, Blue Bayou behind them. Minto had spoken.

"We'll get you something cute to wear," Berry said, smiling sweetly, "I always feel better when I'm wearing something cute!"

Blue Bayou snorted, "What could you get that would make _her_ look cute?"

The mews turned and glared at him, beginning to shove him out the door, "Out, out! Out with you!" Minto said.

"Whaaat?" He said, "I didn't do anything!"

They closed the door behind him once they had successfully pushed him out. He turned, straitening his clothes, and looked up to see Tasuku and Kish.

"You have much to learn about girls, my friend," Tasuku said.

"Never, I repeat, _never_, say they look bad." Kish said. "Even if they look absolutely horrid, tell they're pretty."

"Why?" Blue Bayou asked.

Tasuku sighed and shook his head, "I think he might be hopeless…"

"Hey!" Blue Bayou said, following them as they walked back down the hall.

The girls had found a spare uniform in the closet next to the dressing room; it was a dark, storm cloud gray with pink accents. They made Sweet Juliet put it on in place of her old, gray school uniform clothes.

She walked out to the front room nervously and everyone looked up at her. The girls clapped and the boys looked kind of bored.

"You look so pretty, na no da!" Purin said. Juliet blushed, tugging on a lock of her short hair, and looking to the floor. Berry looked down at her own pink uniform, the color made her think of Ichigo.

"What's wrong?" Tasuku asked her.

"Oh, just…I wonder how Ichigo is." Berry said and looked to the basement door. At that, everyone fell silent. Kish also looked at the door, he wanted to go down there and see her so bad, but Ryou had told him to stay upstairs until he was called down.

Just then, the blonde walked up the stairs and opened the door, "Alright, it worked, but she should be out for at least a half our now."

Kish jumped up, "Can I see her?"

Ryou nodded and moved away from the door, "If you want." Kish ran down the stairs, not stopping until he reached Ichigo's bed and looked down at her.

"You all can go down if you want too." Ryou said.

Berry shook her head, "No, let him be with her."

Kish brushed Ichigo's pink bangs back, out of her eyes, and stroked her cheek. He couldn't wait for her to wake up. He looked at the clock on Ryou's computer; 8:56 at night. Half an hour? He sighed, it seemed like forever to him. He got an idea, suddenly, something he seemed to be getting a lot today, and climbed up, lying down on the bed next to her, wrapping his arms around her protectively. It wouldn't hurt if he took a nap would it? He'd still be there when she woke up, and it would make the time go faster, and he could actually get a peaceful sleep knowing she was with him and safe.

Upstairs, to pass the time and do something special for Ichigo, all the girls decided to bake heart-shaped cookies with strawberry frosting on them, using one of Keiichiro's homemade recipes.

"This recipe calls for two cups of sugar," Juliet said. Everyone had taken to calling her Juliet, since that seemed to be Blue Bayou's nickname for her.

"Two cups of sugar, na no da!" Purin exclaimed, bouncing over with the large jar of sugar and pouring it into the bowl.

"Purin!" Berry squeaked, diving for her in hopes of getting to the bowl before more than two cups of the sweet substance did. Luck was with her, for she grabbed Purin's waist and yanked her off the counter with only a tiny bit of sugar in the mixing bowl.

"I think we're out of eggs…" Retasu said, looking in the refrigerator.

"Where's the yeast?" Minto asked, standing on her tiptoes to look in a cupboard.

"What about the measuring cup?" Zakuro said, "The one that can hold up to two cups."

"Is there anything I can do?" Juliet asked.

The guys, sitting in the front room, flinched when they heard a loud crash, followed by a high pitched squeak from Retasu of, "I'm sorry!" with Berry telling her it was okay and just an accident and Purin offering to clean whatever it was up for her.

"Here, mix this," Berry said, handing Juliet the glass mixing bowl, "And whatever Purin tells you, _no more eggs_ _than two_, okay?"

"Okay." Juliet set the bowl down on the island counter and grabbed the wooden mixing spoon, beginning to stir the contents of the bowl.

Back in the basement, Ichigo stirred slightly, waking up from her peaceful, dreamless sleep. It was nice, waking up for once and not having the feeling that you forgot something. She remembered it all now, everything, and it felt…refreshing, and kind of clean in a strange sense.

She felt a slight weight on her waist though and looked down to find a pale arm draped over her. She rolled over slightly and found Kish, sleeping, right behind her, apparently having pulled her as close to him as he could; she felt his breath on her forehead and blushed at the close contact. She moved around so she was now facing him fully, and studied his face as though she hadn't seen him in years, though he didn't look to much different from when she knew him a few years ago. His face had matured just a bit, but still had his boyish looks, and probably always would, his hair was just a tiny bit shorter, maybe only about a half inch, but everything else was the same, save for the fact that she was now at least a whole head shorter than him. He must have had a growth spurt. Ichigo giggled at the idea, and accidentally woke him up.

His golden eyes opened lazily, and he looked at her sort of dazed, mumbling something she couldn't understand and barely heard. He blinked a few times and took a moment to register everything as he woke up and became lucid.

"Ichigo!" He gasped, sitting up.

Ichigo sat up too and faked a clueless look at him, "Um…who are you?"

She fought down bursting into laughter at the horror stricken look that was plastered on his face. She leaned over and pecked him on the lips with a smirk, "Just kidding."

Kish gave her a playful glare, "You naughty little kitty." Ichigo let out a squeak when Kish swooped in and began kissing her over and over again. Ichigo blushed and her cat ears and tail popped out, but they both looked up when they heard someone clear their throat at the door to the room.

Berry, Minto, Retasu, Purin, Zakuro, and Sweet Juliet stood in the doorway with a large plate of cookies. "Cookies, if you um, don't mind being interrupted." Berry said.

"She is being punished," Kish informed. "She pretended to not remember anything and now she must be given one billion kisses."

Berry sighed, looking at Ichigo in sympathy, "Tasuku's done that to me…"

"Kish, I think I'd pass out before you reached one billion." Ichigo said, pushing him off so she could sit up again.

"And God only knows what he'd do to you then." Minto said.

Ichigo blushed, her cat features popping out again; Kish also blushed but not as much as Ichigo and ignored the bird mew, "We'll take a few cookies, thanks." He said with a sigh. He swung his legs off the side of bed but didn't stand up.

Juliet took a cookie from the plate and walked up to Ichigo rather shyly and handed it to her, "Um…I'm sorry."

Ichigo crawled over and dangled her legs off the bed, taking the cookie, "Thanks but, for what?"

Juliet took in a deep breath, preparing herself, "I am Satou Amai-"

"I knew it!" Kish exclaimed, causing everyone to snap their heads in his direction. "I _knew_ that girl had something to do with you!"

"Er, y-yes," Juliet said, twiddling her fingers in her lap, a nervous habit of hers, "and so, it is my fault that you went to the park that day…and for that, I am sorry, all of this, it's my fault, I'm sorry."

Ichigo handed her cookie to Kish and slipped off the bed, surprising Juliet when she gave her a hug around her shoulders, "its okay, I forgive you."

Once again, Juliet started to tear up and she hugged Ichigo back, starting to cry into her shoulder. This was why she usually just tuned everything out, she was so emotional, and she wasn't used to people being this nice to her, and it was a little strange for someone who was your enemy just a few hours ago.

Ichigo pulled back and little, Juliet still clutching the sleeves of her café uniform, which Retasu and Minto had changed her into since her school uniform was filthy and wrinkled, she wiped away some of the girl's tears, "Don't cry, I said it was okay." Juliet only sniffled and nodded.

"Didn't Ryou-san say Ichigo needed to rest?" Retasu asked, "She did just get a rather big operation-"

"Operation?" Kish cut her off.

"Er, w-well," Retasu stuttered nervously, "not exactly an _operation_, he just used his machines and whatnot to-to extract the Snow Leopard DNA from Ichigo without actually, um, doing any sort of major surgery is all."

Even so, Kish took Ichigo's arm and pulled her into his lap; she blushed and gave him an annoyed and embarrassed look but didn't protest. He wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"About that," Minto said, "If Ichigo had another DNA match, but Ryou never told us, does that mean we also have other matches?"

"It doesn't." Keiichiro said as he descended down the stairs with Ryou. Pai, Tart, Tasuku, Happy Child, and Blue Bayou were being made to keep waiting upstairs.

"There may be over two thousand, five hundred, eighty endangered species alone on earth," Ryou said, "At least twice that of ones that are considered of least concern, who knows how many that we haven't even discovered, and probably around the same amount of extinct animals. But, even with so many animals, it's unique for someone to have more than one match for an animal, let alone two different species." He gestured towards Berry.

"This may also be the reason why Mew Ichigo is so strong," Keiichiro said, "Or, it could just be her."

"I bet it's just you," Kish said, nuzzling Ichigo's cheek. She blushed yet again.

"If it goes any farther than that, get a room," Minto said.

"Psh, _you guys_ are the ones that intruded." Kish said.

Purin shot her hand into the air, "Purin has a question, na no da, Purin has a question!"

"What is it, Purin-chan?" Keiichiro asked.

"Why did Ichigo-oneechan have to have her Snow Leopard DNA taken away, na no da?" Purin asked.

"Because, she had full Irimote Wildcat DNA mixed with her human DNA," Ryou explained, "The balance was uneven, making it fatal if she kept it for to long." Ichigo felt Kish tighten his arms around her. "Berry seemed to be okay with it though, since it was half and half of each DNA, though the Amami Rabbit in her seems to be more dominant over the Andean Mountain Cat."

"As interesting as this all is," Berry said, "I think we should be getting back upstairs to the boys before they decide to try something in the kitchen, I heard them say something about smoothies."

"Oh! I remember when Kish and Tasuku made us smoothies!" Ichigo said. "Those were good!"

"See? We're not completely horrid in the kitchen." Kish said.

"Yes, but…you blew up the blender." Berry said. Everyone started giggling and laughing, even Juliet.

When they did go back upstairs, Ichigo included, they were relieved to find that they had decided against using the kitchen. The only thing that had been made was chocolate milk for Happy Child and Tart, they also made a glass for Purin.

Everyone was now sitting around the tables, the plate of cookies on the middle of the table. Kish was, of course, next to Ichigo, Tasuku next to Berry, Purin between Happy Child and Tart, Pai was discussing something of science with Ryou and Keiichiro, Minto was trying to imitate Zakuro by being quiet and only sipping at her tea, Juliet was next to Blue Bayou, everyone talking with whoever.

Later that night, it had been decided that the Saint Rose Crusaders -what was left of them- would stay at Café Mew Mew until they found somewhere they could stay, which would probably end up being Duke's old mansion. No one knew what happened to Duke, they all guessed he just disappeared, and no one really knew what happened to Royal Highness either, Blue Bayou still wouldn't tell them what he had done to him.

Ichigo and Berry were standing on the balcony of Café Mew Mew's second floor, staring up at the night sky. Berry turned to Ichigo would a smile.

"So, are you going to take over as leader again?" She asked.

"Sure, if you want me to." Ichigo said.

Berry put an arm around Ichigo's shoulders, "Great, because they're driving me _crazy_!" She laughed and Ichigo laughed with her.

"Excuse me!" They looked over their shoulders to see the other mews, Minto being the one that spoke, but smiling. "We aren't _that_ much to handle, are we?"

Berry and Ichigo smirked at each other and said, unison, "You have no idea."

When they turned to face them fully, Purin ran and jumped up, hugging Ichigo around the neck, "Purin is sooo happy Ichigo-oneechan is all better, na no da!"

"Yeah, I'm a little surprised Kish is letting you out of his sight." Minto teased.

Ichigo hugged Purin back, "Whatever, I'm just glad I can remember everything now."

"Ichigoooo!" The mews ran over and gave her a group hug, tears coming to Retasu's eyes and bright smiles on all their faces, even Zakuro's.

* * *

_Three weeks later…_

Making up an explanation for Ichigo's parents had been tricky, but at least they bought it. They had been told that she was spending the night at Minto's with the other girls, and Minto was supposed to call and tell them, but forgot, thus leaving them clueless as to where they're daughter was for a whole day and a half. They had been worried, but thinking it was a stupid mistake, she hadn't gotten grounded for it, only having to clean the whole house and help decorate for Halloween. Ichigo's number one hated holiday.

She sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed. There was skeleton hanging on the front door that she had put on, fake cobwebs everywhere with little plastic spiders in them, a papier-mâché skull on the bookcase in the living room, two jack-o'-lanterns on the back porch, and a scarecrow with an scary face sitting in a rocking chair next to the door. The last decoration Ichigo had been made to put up -much to her protests- was a cloth ghost outside her bedroom window. One bad thing about getting her memory back was that she remembered how afraid she was of all things paranormal.

Minto's birthday had come and passed, she now thirteen, one year younger than Ichigo again, the mews had gotten her a book of Shakespeare's entire collection, unable to think of anything else to give the rich girl, but she seemed to love it. Ichigo was working at Café Mew Mew again, having quit her job at Isabelle's Art Shop to work with her friends, but she still loved to draw and would occasionally give Mai, the store's manger, a picture she had drawer for the window if she asked for one. She looked over the drawings she had done from when she had met Kish without her memory; she had done Happy Child, Royal Highness, Sweet Juliet, Blue Bayou, Tart, Pai, Kish, and even Deep Blue. All the mews in mew form, and she now realized how much Minto and the angel she'd drawn that Kish had seen looked alike. Much to Kish's annoyance, Ichigo was quite popular with the boys at Café Mew Mew, all the girls were popular and considered some of the prettiest young waitresses in the area, but the one in the hot pink with the pigtails was always the most popular.

Sweet Juliet was still going to the girls' school, now under the name of Juliet Sweet, they had told everyone that Satou Amai had gone back to New York, were she was supposedly from, and no one had heard from her since. They had offered Juliet a position on the Café Mew Mew staff and she accepted, now working there after school on the weekdays and attending an acting class on weekends, her uniform was the same one she'd been given the first time she went to the café, a dark, storm cloud gray with pink accents. She seemed to like the idea of wearing pink, but still preferred to wear more black and dark gray than anything else. She also had plans of tracking down her parents and giving them a visit, though she wasn't sure when and was still in the process of convincing Bayou to go with her.

Blue Bayou was now going to Tasuku's school and a valuable player on their basketball team. He had also taken up other sports such as skateboarding, football, and soccer. It was a good release for him, also having some issues since his parents, like Juliet's, had dumped him at a boarding school when they found he had superhuman strength. Though, also because of this, he had gotten into some pretty bad fights at school, thankfully Tasuku was there for him. He was also now going under the name Buruu Bayou, though everyone at the café just called him Bayou.

Happy Child was also going to Tasuku and Bayou's school, under his own name, but always called Happy, and he got along pretty well with Purin, which seemed to bug Tart beyond words as she had taken to calling him Happy-kun. He and Bayou liked to hang around the café when they had nothing better to do, which was just about every day. The girls were currently in the process of trying to get Bayou and Juliet together without them knowing.

Ichigo had called Masaya, as frightful as it had been to do so, to confirm their breakup, and as it was he had had a new someone himself, a girl named Burokkori, with long, soft, curly, light green hair and beautiful, shimmering, deep green eyes, as he had described her. Ichigo didn't mind at all that he had found someone else and could describe her so beautifully; she also had someone else and would probably describe Kish just as handsome, if not more so. But hey, at least he finally found someone who would go to all the animal exhibits and aquariums and _Save the Earth_ groups and whatnot without getting bored or wondering why that even counted as a date. She was glad for him.

Ichigo looked up when she heard a soft tapping on her window. Damn, she'd have to go near that stupid fake ghost. At least she knew who it was; she could see Kish sitting on her balcony railing, holding something.

She got up and walked over, sliding the window open and looking out, "Hi."

Kish leaned over and pecked her lips, "Hi, honey, can I come in?"

Ichigo smiled, "Of course." She moved out of the way and Kish slipped through the window.

He smirked at her, and Ichigo thought it looked a little to perverted, "What?" She asked.

"Here," He handed her a black box with pink ribbons on it. "I got Ryou to get it for me so I could give it to you."

"What is it?" Ichigo asked, looking down at the box she was now holding.

"Your Halloween costume." Kish said, grinning.

Her head snapped up to look at him, "But, I thought Ryou was just decorating the café, I didn't know I had to wear a costume too!"

Kish winked at her and put a finger to his lips, "Ah ah, Kitten, think again." She gave him a helpless, frightened look, "They knew you wouldn't accept it, so the girls decided to plan a Trick-or-Treating party, you included but unknowing."

"We're too old to go Trick-or-Treating!" Ichigo squeaked in protest.

Kish chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer, "Not if we're babysitting some little kids."

"Who- Tart, Purin, and Happy!" Ichigo groaned.

Kish kissed her lips, "Yes, and weather you like it or not, you have to wear the costume I gave you, it's all you have, Berry confirmed this for me."

"Oh dear God, what did you get?" Ichigo asked in horror, a fleeting flashback running through her mind of when she and Berry had last had a sleepover; it was only a few nights ago. Knowing Kish, and his perverted nature towards her, it was probably something all too skimpy and showy for her liking. Thinking over what it could possibly be, her cheeks turned red and her black cat ears and tail popped out.

Kish chuckled, "You know, I think I like you better with you black cat tail instead of the Snow Leopard one, it's sexier."

"Kish!" Ichigo squeaked, turning a whole new shade of red.

"What?" Kish asked innocently, "Is it such a crime that I think my own girlfriend is the hottest thing alive?"

She buried her face in his chest, her newfound favorite hiding place, even if she was hiding from him, and tried not to giggle at her own embarrassment. Honestly, she and Kish had been together for at least a month and a half now, if you counted when she didn't remember him, and were more in love than ever, she really shouldn't be getting so worked up like this.

"Come on now, Kitten," Kish said quietly, stroking her hair, "You'll have to try it on tonight, we go Trick-or-Treating tomorrow night."

Ichigo sighed and nodded, "Alright, fine, but whatever it is, you have to wait until tomorrow to see me in it."

"Aaaw!" Kish whined and pouted childishly, "Do you have to be such a tease?"

She shot a playful glare up at him, "You're the one that got it! Heck, I don't even know what it is yet! For all I know, it could be some…some skimpy little French main outfit!"

"Mmm, that would look quite delicious too." Kish said. He licked his lips and Ichigo punched his arm lightly. At least now she knew one thing that is _wasn't_, but oh, the possibilities were endless of what it _could_ be. She was now dreading opening the box. Stupid box…stupid perverted boyfriend…stupid holiday…

She pushed him away, "Alright, now out with you, I'm going to see what it is and you had better pray I won't kill you for it."

Kish faked an innocent look, "Kitty Kat, do you really think I would get you something so horrid?"

"Depends on what your definition of "horrid" is," Ichigo said, "Now, out," She began ushering him towards the window, "I want to try it on, I have to make sure it fits _before_ I need to wear it."

"Oh, trust me kitten, I got your right size." Kish said, now sitting in the window.

Ichigo blushed, "How do you know my size?!"

Kish swooped in and kissed her, "Because I do." He said, grinning, once he pulled back and then disappeared.

Ichigo sighed and shook her head; oh her boyfriend was such a trip. She never could figure him out and didn't think she ever would. But she loved him nonetheless. Looking down at the box, she hesitantly pulled the pink ribbons off and then the black wrapping paper to reveal a black box with cobwebs printed onto it. She lifted the lid and found-

A low-cut and rather short pink dress that had a black petticoat underneath it to make it puff out, black and red card symbols lining the bottom in order; red heart, black spade, red diamond, black club, they went around the hem. It had a frilly black apron to go with it that had pink lace trimming where the top and bottom pieces were sewn together, very short and slightly puffy sleeves that had black lace trimming, thigh high black and pink striped stockings, high-heeled black Mary Janes, and fingerless black lace gloves that had pink ribbons on the wrists.

"KISH!" Ichigo screamed. Did he really expect her to wear…_that_? It was like one of those "Halloween costumes" you could get from Hot Topic. And if she was going as Alice…what was everyone else going as? Other characters from Wonderland? Oh boy, tomorrow was going to be a long night, she could only guess who Kish was going as and she figured it would be something to match hers.

She tried the costume on and, just as Kish had promised, it fit her perfectly. A little too perfectly. It was tight and clung to her in all the right places, designed specifically to show off her chest, legs, and pretty much her whole body. The apron tied into a small bow on her back with black lace, a small ways above her hips, and hugged her tightly. She shook her head slowly, why did her friends have to do this to her? What had she ever done to them that was so horrible? Besides, you know, forgetting them and trying to kill them, but that wasn't even her fault! And she had apologized anyways, so all was forgiven.

Ichigo went to bed at ten that night, knowing Ryou would call everyone in early to finish the café for Halloween. She left her window open just a crack, knowing Kish would come in sometime around midnight, he always did to check up on her or just to see her, and she didn't mind one bit, she actually found it quite cute and romantic. Though, he did tend to be a little paranoid when it came to her safety.

The next day had been very busy, from Kish glaring and threatening everyone and anyone who tried to get a look up Ichigo's skirt when Ryou told her to hang the black and orange construction paper chains around the café's ceiling, and of course he was the only one to actually notice, so to say they might not have actually been doing it, to rushing around the kitchen trying to get orders together while Keiichiro calmly and happily baked the whole day away. Needless to say, Ichigo was exhausted by the time the work day was over and she could relax and sit down.

She plopped down onto Kish's lap, no invitation necessary anymore, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, "Kitty Kat's tired, huh?"

"Yeah." Ichigo sighed, spilling her upper body onto the table and closing her eyes.

"I never would have guessed such a small pink café would be so popular." Juliet said.

Ichigo smirked up at her, "You know, you're pretty popular yourself." Juliet blushed but stayed silent.

"Just don't forget about the Trick-or-Treating tonight!" Berry reminded, winking at her.

"You know about my costume, don't you?" Ichigo asked in dismay.

"Don't worry, mine's not much better." Berry said, nudging Tasuku in the ribs. He looked at her, confused.

* * *

That night, Ichigo had so reluctantly changed into her costume exactly five minutes before Kish had said he would arrive to pick her up. Standing in front of her dresser mirror, her hair up in pigtails with black lace ribbons, she applied pink eye shadow in a way that made her eyes look much more cat-like with black eyeliner adding to the affect, it was very elegant yet slightly cyber-goth looking, she also had on strawberry flavored pink lip-gloss and black nail polish. Hey, it was Halloween, why not go all out? She stepped back and admired her handiwork, rather liking the outcome. She could see why Juliet liked to wear black and pink so much, it just looked so cool but also had that slightly elegant look to it.

She jumped, startled, when the doorbell rang. Grabbing her black cat-shaped back pack, quickly tossing in her pink cell phone and black wallet, she yanked it over one shoulder and ran out of the room as quickly and stably as she could on her high heels.

Once at the front door she slowly grabbed the handled, twisted it, and opened the door. However, when she saw Kish, she couldn't help but laugh and he looked at curiously, checking his costume to make sure he wasn't wearing it in-side-out or anything, but he wasn't, so he couldn't rightly figure out what had set the girl into such a laughing fit.

"Um…Kitten?" Kish said, a clueless look on his face. He had planned on greeting her with a sudden kiss before she could even speak, but apparently that wasn't going to happen, so as she laughed he decided to take the time to look her over in her costume. It fit her to perfection, in his eyes, and she looked good enough to eat. Perhaps that costume wasn't the best of ideas; some other guy might see her and try something on her. Now started the paranoia that he would lose her to someone else, he was always afraid of that, which was why he glared at and threatened everyone who even so much as glanced at her.

Ichigo curbed her laughter and looked up at him, keeping the tips of one hand's fingers over her mouth and biting down on one lip. It just looked so ridiculous it was cute!

Kish was obviously the Mad Hatter. He had on a dark brown vest pin-stripped with black, buttoned up with skull buttons most of the way but revealing some of his chest and one of the last few buttons undone, showing a tiny bit of his stomach, his pants were black-green slacks with very thin, silver chains clinging down the sides of his pant legs, four on each. He had on black Converse sneakers, black and dark green striped fingerless gloves, and what was making Ichigo laugh so hard; the over-sized, black top hat sitting on his head, a little off to one side, and a slip of old-looking burnt paper attached to it with 10/6 written on it in what looked like feather-pen ink, so it looked all the more older. And apparently, the top hat didn't hide his ears, but it was Halloween, he was aloud to show them off to the human world.

"The hat, Kish, it's the hat," Ichigo chuckled, "It's…so big."

Kish looked up with only his eyes at the brim of his top hat, "I'm the Mad Hatter, isn't it supposed to be big?"

"Yes." Ichigo said, still grinning, "Now let's go."

"Very well," Kish said. He licked his lips and she saw a rather perverted glint in his eyes, "But I must say, you look quite scrumptious tonight."

"Ichigo, honey?" Sakura called from the kitchen and soon Ichigo heard her mother's footsteps walking towards them, "Who is it? Did you let them in?"

"Uh…!" Ichigo looked panicked. She was _not_ ready for Kish to meet her parents.

But, alas, Sakura and Shintaro Momomiya appeared around the corner and walked up to them.

"Who is _that_?" Her father asked.

"Um, D-dad, this is, uh, Kish, my um-"

"Boyfriend." Kish interrupted, grinning at her father. Oh God, he might as well have just set ravenous, rabies ridden attack squirrels loose on the city.

"Your _what_?!" Shintaro yelled. Kish cocked his head to the side, his top hat sliding with it, wondering what he did to upset his kitten's father so much. Shintaro turned to Ichigo, "And just where do you think you're going with a _boy_ in _that_?!"

"We're just going Trick-or-Treating with some friends, Dad," Ichigo said, "To baby-sit these three kids, you remember Purin-chan, right? Well it's her and two of her friends, so don't get mad."

It was a bit late for that though, her father was steaming. Sakura ushered Kish and Ichigo out the door before he father could say anything, "Yes, well, Ichigo, you look stunning, and Kish is very handsome, we hope to be more properly introduced some time, but you two kids have fun now! I like your ears, Kish, very real looking! Buh-bye!" She shut the door and Ichigo and Kish could hear her mother attempting to calm Shintaro down.

Ichigo giggled, linking her arm in Kish's and they walked off. At least her parents had thought Kish's ears were part of his costume.

"If your father gets to upset just by me seeing you," Kish said, "Then I wonder what he'd do if he found out I was in your bedroom every night."

"He'd just die on the spot." Ichigo said, wide eyed.

Kish laughed lightly. They reached a wooded area near her house and stepped behind a tree, Kish wrapping his arms around her waist, and Ichigo's arms around his neck, so he could teleport them to Happy, Bayou, and Juliet's mansion.

Said house was decorated for Halloween, as though it had actually needed decorations to be ready. Toilet paper was wrapped loosely around the willow tree branches and a _BEWARE THE LIVING DEAD_ sign hung on the pad-locked front gates. On the old, beaten wood front porch there was a jack-o'-lantern next to the door and a few black and red candles lining the railing with labels reading _Graveyard Scented_ and _Dracula Scented_, they smelt of old, rotting wood, freshly cut grass, rain, and something rather musty smelling, like an old, abandoned basement. Juliet really knew how to do Halloween. But hey, she liked the darker side of things, and you couldn't blame her for it.

When they walked in, everyone was chatting in the living room, Juliet greeted them first at the door. She was wearing a strapless, floor length red dress that had black hearts lining the bottom hem, black lace bell sleeves that hung off her shoulders but were still attached to the dress, black ribbons crisscrossing up the back, and black flats for shoes. Her makeup was done like a pro's, white face powder to make her a bit paler, red eyeliner on her top eyelids with black on the bottom, dark gray eye shadow, red nail polish, and black lip gloss.

"Hello! Come in," She said, showing them into the front room. She gave Ichigo a quick hug and a light kiss on each cheek like her drama teacher had showed her and was considered to be a proper thing to do with female guests, if you were a female host. Juliet seemed much happier these days.

When she led them into the living room, Ichigo's mouth fell open at nearly the whole cast of Alice in Wonderland with a slightly dark twist, standing and sitting around Juliet's living room.

Retasu was wearing a dress identical to Juliet's, only the red was white, she was the White Queen making Juliet the Red Queen, her makeup still had the face powder, but pale green lip-shine instead of black lip gloss, white nail polish, and pale green eyeliner rather than red. Minto was wearing an ankle length blue-green dress that had dark blue lace straps, and pale blue glittering swirls all over it, blue high heels, glittering and sparkling butterfly wings on her back that had dark blue as the edging color, and was a light blue for the rest of it with black swirls on it. She was the Caterpillar turned Butterfly. Ryou was wearing a purple and pink striped t-shirt with baggy, purple cargo pants, purple cat ears, and a purple and pink striped cat tail, and by the look on his face it had been forced on him, probably by Minto, he was the Cheshire Cat. Zakuro was wearing an elegant, black, red, and white layered, gothic Victorian style dress, a small gold crown that had black rhinestones on her head, holding a short red staff that had black heart bobble on the top, a black ribbon bow underneath it, and makeup was red eye shadow with black eyeliner and red lip gloss. Accompanying the Queen of Hearts was Keiichiro, dressed black slacks that had red straps hanging off the back, a black button up shirt that had a red heart on the left breast pocket, his hair was out of it's ponytail, his own crown on his head, but more kingly looking than Zakuro's. He was the King of Hearts. Purin was wearing an orange miniskirt that had black pleats, and a black strap hanging off both sides from her hips, red Converse sneakers, a black, short sleeved button up shirt that had jack-o'-lanterns and monkey skulls for buttons, a yellow and black checkered tied resting against her chest, on one leg she had a yellow and black checkered, thigh high stocking while on the other was an orange and black striped one, orange fingerless gloves, and her makeup was only a red teardrop under one eye, outlined in black, with a yellow star under her other eye, also outlined in black. Tart's outfit wasn't much different, only he had black cargo shorts rather than a skirt, and orange straps crisscrossing over the back of his legs, he had socks rather than stockings, a black and orange checkered beanie, and his makeup was the same as Purin's, they were the Tweedle Twins. Happy Child was wearing gold-colored cargo pants that had thin, black chains hanging everywhere on them, black boots, a short sleeved, black, button up shirt that had gold cogwheels for buttons, a pocket watch in almost every pocket that all looked the different but still with a Steampunk look to each, and a matching wristwatch, Ichigo guessed he was supposed to be Time. Bayou was wearing only black cargo pants that had two, thin silver chains crisscrossing on the back of his legs, a button-up brown shirt, and black suspenders. Pai, the poor soul, was wearing black cargo pants that had dark purple stitching and two straps hanging down the backs of his legs, a black button up shirt with a dark purple and black checkered tie, and dark gray mouse ears sewn onto a black beanie with a thin little mouse tail on the back of his pants, he was the Door Mouse and didn't look to happy about it.

"Ichigo!" Berry was right, her costume wasn't that much better than Ichigo's. Her skirt, being puffed out almost like a tutu with a black petticoat, was gray with black spades lining the hem, her top was a slightly low-cut gray and black plaid vest that buttoned up with rabbit skulls, a very thin, silver chain hanging from the right breast pocket, a silver pocket watch inside, a black ribbons tied around each wrist, thigh high white stockings, and black high heels. She also had on a white rabbit tail and ears, and her makeup was thick black eyeliner, pink lip gloss, white eye shadow, and painted-on black whiskers, and to top it off she had white nail polish. She was the White Rabbit.

"You look so cute!" Ichigo said.

"Thanks!" Berry said, "You look great, too!"

"You bet she does." Kish said and gave Ichigo a kiss on her ear.

"You two are here at last!" Tasuku, now standing behind Berry, was wearing black slacks that had thin, silver chains hanging from each of his four pockets, a dark brown button up shirt that had thick, blocky, squared black swirls all over it, and a black and red checkered tie resting against his chest, he had brown and black Converse sneakers, and black fingerless gloves, his nails painted black but it was chipped and cracked quite badly, though done on purpose. Like his girlfriend, he also had on white rabbit ears and a tail, he was the March Hare.

"So, who are you supposed to be?" Ichigo asked Bayou.

He grinned at her, "Humpty Dumpty!" Ichigo giggled, but looked at him curiously when he flicked her nose playfully, "And you, _Alice_, look quite adorable tonight."

Kish snaked his arms around Ichigo's waist and pulled her away from him, saying; "Hisssss!" Bayou raised an eyebrow at him.

"I think the Mad Hatter just might fit you a bit too much." Ichigo said.

"Let's go, lets go, lets go!" Purin squeaked, grabbing Happy and Tart's hands and running for the door. Her candy bucket looked like a jack-o'-lantern, Tart's was a tombstone, and Happy's was a skull. Everyone else just had a black pillowcase.

They had quite a fun time Trick-or-Treating, and people adored their costumes, finding the "Mad Hatter" paired with "Alice" just adorable, as well as the "Tweedle Twins" and "Time". A few people stifled giggles at their "Door Mouse" but Pai just ignored them, though his embarrassment was there no doubt. At one point, as a joke, someone gave Kish and Tasuku each a box of English teabags and Pai a jar of jam rather than candy, and then laughed when Kish put up a fit that tea was not candy, tea could not _be_ candy, it was impossible for tea to be candy and if this person honestly thought that tea _was_ candy then they aught to have themselves checked by a proper doctor, and kept laughing as Ichigo towed him down the sidewalk while he continued on, ranting about how he's he the Mad Hatter and that he had should be grateful he got tea rather than candy, because he was the Mad Hatter and therefore was supposed to be obsessed with tea, but he wasn't, in fact, he didn't even care for tea that much unless it was strawberry flavored. Needless to say, his rant went on for quite a while until finally it died down to just him mumbling to himself utter nonsense, the people around him becoming concerned for his sanity, some even more so than they already were.

They ended the night by dropping Purin off at her house, Tart was spending the night apparently, and everyone else at their own houses.

Berry slipped off her shoes, which had been hurting her feet for most of the night, and the rabbit ears and tail, and sat on the edge of her bed. She jumped, startled, when her cell phone went off, her set ring tone playing _Juliet_ by _Emilie Autumn_. She pulled the small, white device from her shirt pocket and flipped it open.

_I miss you!!_

She giggled, it was from Tasuku. She sent a text back, saying that he'd just seen her and been with her for almost the whole night. He sent one back.

_Look up._

She did and nearly jumped right out her skin, her bunny ears and cat tail jumping up, when she found Tasuku right in front of her, his face mere inches away from hers and smiling.

"Hi." He said.

"Tasuku…" She leaned forward and rested her head on his shoulder. He shifted and sat down on the bed next to her.

"Fun night, huh?" He asked, slipping his arms around her waist.

"Yeah." Berry sighed.

Ichigo closed the front door quietly, knowing her parents wouldn't have waited up for her past midnight, and quietly tiptoed up the stairs. She shut her bedroom door behind her and slipped off her shoes and the stockings, sitting down on the edge of her bed. Her window was open. She sniffed the air; it was going to rain soon. She smiled to herself, happy to have all her old cat traits back.

"Trick or treat, nice and sweet, you look good enough to eat." She felt arms wrap around her waist and a silky voice whisper into her ear.

She smirked and twisted around, slipping her arms around Kish's neck and brushing her lips against his, "I love you."

"I love you more." Kish said. He no longer had his top hat, but was still wearing the vest and pants.

"Nu-uh, I do." Ichigo said.

"This war that you have now started is hopeless for you." Kish informed.

Ichigo giggled, "Just shut up and kiss me."

_**THE END **_

Me: Ta da! Even though I started this one after my first story, it still got finished first, hehe. Anyway, how was the ending? Did I do good? I hope so...

Kish: ^^I liked the ending!

Me: Of course you did, you're with Ichigo.

Kish: :D

Me: Anyway, thank you to those who read this and especially to those who reviewed! Everyone of you gets a cookie! *throws cookies at people*

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